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The article focuses on the decline of the paper industry in the 21st century. There was a significant decrease in printing-paper consumption since the peak in paper demand in North America in 2000. The key challenges facing the sector are boosting the environmental and usability credentials of paper and finding new applications for the pulp. But the consumption decline in the west is not reflected in Asia and South America.

This article reports on the practice of plagiarism in North America. John Lesko, founder of "Plagiary," an online magazine devoted to the subject, is making the study of plagiarism into a serious academic discipline which he has dubbed "plagiarology." The field of study includes any kind of cheating or falsification, including forgery or the faking of data in scientific experiments. Plagiarism and academic cheating have become more common due to the wide-spread use of the Internet.

Presents excerpts from a transcript of a telephone conference call among more than a dozen senior ministerial aides on Aug. 26 concerning the campaign to convince Canadians of the need for the North American Free Trade Agreement and to discredit its opponents. Call participants; Latest polls on support for free trade; Letters from the left-wing, crypto-communist, anti-free trade, NDP-Liberal con group; The rush of the looney left; Supportive governments; Offering a choice of economic policy.

This article argues against Valentine's Day as a holiday for kids. Imagine my consternation when I found, once my little darlings started kindergarten, that most North American schools encourage young children to make a big, and quite age-inappropriate, fuss about Valentine's Day. In these egalitarian days, the idea of giving billets-doux only to people you actually like is seen as dangerously elitist. Instead, democracy runs riot: even the class bully has to get his tokens of affection. Every year the greeting card companies (the true arbiters of modern social mores) produce boxes and boxes of wee coloured scraps of paper, designed to be given by children to other children in their class--all the other children. As well, I think bright children instinctively sense the absurdity of a system that allows them no way to distinguish school friend from foe. But what makes me cringe is seeing children essentially made fools of by the romance industry.

The article focuses on the venture of LeClair Organics in importing and selling the expensive Racemosa and affordable Liberica coffee species in North America during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics discussed include the role of low supply in the high price of Racemosa, taste of the Malaysian Liberica according to business owner Jeremy LeClair, and possible emergence of the lowland Liberica species as an alternative to Arabica due to the climate change-related difficulty of growing the latter.

The article reports on the feud between Starbucks and Nestlé over their respective instant coffee products. Nestlé reportedly unveiled billboards in Starbuck's home town of Seattle, Washington that urged customers to pay 400% less for its Taster's Choice coffee before Starbucks can introduce its Via instant coffee. To counter the publicity, Starbucks has launched in-store taste tests across North America, pitting Via against its regular brew. The feud resulted in Nestlé dominating the instant coffee market.

The article focuses on housewives who devote most of their free time to scrapbooking, and the neglect felt by their husbands. The author reports that some women spend more money per week on scrapbook accessories than they do on groceries. Scrapbooking is not only a multi-billion dollar industry, the article reveals, it is also the fastest growing hobby in North America. A survey conducted by Scrapbooking in America found that one in four homes had a dedicated scrapbooker.

The article focuses on how automobile and petroleum companies will react to the decreases in automobile use in the developed world. Topics include the ways in which North American governments have tried to reduce automobile dependence, the decrease in vehicle registration per capita in North America between 2007 and 2012, and how unemployment impacts automobile travel.

The article presents the author's opinion on the reasons why a high number of Aboriginal youth in Canada commit suicide. He discusses the results of an internet search on this topic that the socio-economic conditions, psychological-biological tendencies, and the post-traumatic stress of a culture's destruction contributes to the suicides. He suggests that this suicide epidemic is a direct link to residential schools, where generations of Native American families were torn apart by the system.

The article discusses whether Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) preparation courses are worth it. Students in North America hoping to get into a master of business administration program take the GMAT. Kaplan, a test preparation company, guarantees a higher test score. Most preparation courses offer practice tests. These courses help students who are not confident about taking standardized tests.

Examines the history of human settlement in the Americas. Evidence which suggests that human migration to the Americas was much earlier than scholars believed possible due to glacial coverage; Possibility that humans came to the Americas in waves, and from Europe, Australia, and Africa; Struggle between archaeologists and Native Americans over the control of ancient bones.

Presents an investigative report on the Chinese migrants who were smuggled from their country into the United States through Canada. Journey from Fujian; One woman's journey from China to Canada; Terror and hardship endured.

Reports that millions in the increasingly overstressed and economically insecure middle class across North America are rejecting the lifestyle of overwork and overconsumption. The term, cashing out; Anecdote from families who have changed their lifestyles; The Bow Chinook Barter Network; The economic conditions which have forced some to join in the remaking of the workplace and the consumer marketplace. INSET: Wanted: City slickers (moving to Rossburn, Manitoba).

Discusses changes in the operation of electrical utilities in Canada in anticipation of the deregulation and privatization of the electricity marketplace. Restructuring of several utilities; Need for utilities to focus on improving customer relations; Possible increase in competition among utilities in North America as a result of deregulation. INSET: Looking to the future? Look to Alberta..

Reports on the practice of some of North America's largest corporations of donating intellectual property (IP) to nonprofit organizations in exchange for receipts worth enormous savings in taxes. Donations from DuPont Company to United States universities; Donations of Lubrizol and Boeing companies; Tax rate statistics; Method for businesses to get rid of the ongoing cost of maintaining patent rights for an idea that has no future; Lack of value seen by nonprofit groups on IP; Scrutinization of deductions; Warning to investors about the inaccuracy of corporations in assessing the value of their IP; Lack of IP licensing; Susceptibility of patents to legal challenges; Suggestion that there is little investors can do to gauge patent defensibility; Opinion that even professional investors need improvement in thinking about IP issues.

Presents an essay on free trade in North America, and its impact on Canada. Opinion that a treaty for Free Trade Area of the Americas would allow the United States control of the Americas; Effect of the North American Free Trade Agreement on commerce; Fear that free trade could diminish Canada's independence.

Focuses on Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien's 12-day trade mission to Latin America. Economic opportunities that abound; Canada's growing business ties with the area--highlighted by the proposed inclusion of Chile in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); Hopes of Canada to offset the dominant influence of the United States, which now takes 80% of its exports; Various deals under consideration.

The article offers a corporate social responsibility report by "Maclean's" and Jantzi Research. The report ranks the most socially responsible companies operating in North America. Particular attention is given to how to invest in corporations who are socially and morally aware. The author advises the reader to set limits on what issues are important to you, and then decide how deep your convictions are. From there, research the policies of various companies to see which ones suit your needs.

Discusses the threat of technology pollution. Observation that computers leak potentially lethal chemicals when left in landfill; Failure of North America to dispose of such trash safely; Suggestion that solutions are needed to avoid damage to the ecology and cleanup costs; Significance of the economic and political ramifications of such waste; The high cost of safely recycling and the government's reluctance to pay for it; Legal steps that are being taken in the U.S. and Canada; Outlook.

Offers an excerpt from the book 'Bones: Discovering the First Americans,' by Elaine Dewar. Clashes between scientists and Native Americans over how to bury aboriginal remains; Views of Native Americans regarding the treatment of ancestral remains; How remains are kept in universities, museums, private collections, and federal institutions.

Reports on the problems Canada is facing in terms of overall productivity in the late 1990s. Indications of a brain drain caused by Canadians moving to the United States; The effect of Canada's high federal and provincial taxes on the problem; Efforts of Canada's Finance Minister Paul Martin to rectify the problem; Reasons for the declining productivity in Canada such as the shift to North American free trade; Where Canada places in terms of the productivity level of industrialized countries.

Reports on stock market predictions for 2000. Predictions by Elaine Garzarelli of a stock market correction; Effect of weak global growth on American interest rates; Financial advice by Jeffery Rubin of CIBC World Markets Inc.; Information about Elf Aquitaine Group, De Beers and other companies.

Examines how Ottawa is claiming victory over a continental trade compromise. Details of negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, the United States and Mexico; Political risk taken by Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell and Canadian federal Trade Minister Thomas Hockin by balking at US sanctions proposals; Deals that was made; Fate of NAFTA.

Focuses on the North American Free Trade Agreement and the frantic schedule of Canadian, American and Mexican officials involved in the negotiations, which have lasted 13 months. Bilateral talks between the US and Mexico on cars and sugar; Restrictions in the 1989 Canada-US Free Trade Agreement; NAFTA language on rules of origin must be specific; Negotiators improving their communications with industry; FTA rules subject to interpretation by customs.

This article discusses the mainstreaming of the sex toy industry in North America. One of the more obscure examples of life imitating Sex and the City dates back to an early episode in which Charlotte, the" good girl," became hooked on a candy-coloured vibrator called the Rabbit. The very next day, sex shops across North America sold out of the model. Once the stuff of seedy back-alley porn shops, sex toys--vibrators, dildos and other adult novelty products--have gone mainstream to the point where soon, buying a" personal massager" may be about as outré as owning a crimping iron. In North America, sex toys are a$ 500-million-a-year industry, supported largely by middle-class heterosexual couples in their 30s and 40s. Perhaps most remarkable is the explosion of choices to have emerged in the past decade.

Discusses the overvaluation of the United States dollar, the global reappraisal of U.S. investment risks in stocks and bonds, and the impact of the softening U.S. dollar on the currency market. Concern that an investor panic could put the global financial system in a crisis; How Canadian loonies or dollars have been affected; The enthusiasm for gold since the dollar's descent; Foreign investment in Canadian stocks, which gives investors access to the U.S. economy in a stronger currency; Outlook for the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Presents business-related news briefs as of April 10, 2000. Decision of the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC) to increase oil production and its effect on gasoline prices; Volatility of United States and Canadian technology-stock indexes; Outlook for Canada's wealth gap and international investment position.

Comments on the practice of many Canadian businesses of listing their shares on the United States' Nasdaq-Amex International, rather than on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). How the TSE power base is eroded each time this occurs; Why Nasdaq is often a more attractive option for large companies than TSE; The author's opinion that the solution is for TSE to ally itself with Nasdaq.

Opinion. Focuses on the North American stock markets in 1996. Influence of corporate earnings and interest rates on market activity; View that fear is leading investors around; Sunbeam Corp. and the effect on stock prices by the appointment of Albert Dunlap as its chief executive officer; The need for managers who know how to manage rather than downsize companies.

Discusses the increasing popularity of driving courses for North American business people who plan to drive overseas in dangerous countries. The learning of offensive and evasive driving; BSR Inc.; Executive Security International Ltd.; The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving; The reason why such courses have become necessary; The costs.