Hardware Shops Research Articles

MR.D.I.Y. “the Malaysian sweetheart”

Learning outcomes Upon completion, successful students will be able to examine the importance of digitalisation as a competitive tool in business management; use a suitable theory to justify the need for an organisation to engage in e-commerce; develop suitable strategies/solutions to challenges faced by a business organisation in the world of digitalisation of business; explain the way data analytics and digitalisation can affect business strategies and marketing functions; and identify and explain various considerations in the internationalisation of business. Case overview/synopsis MR.D.I.Y. “The Malaysian Sweetheart” is a case about a home improvement company that has transformed itself from a regular hardware shop into a favourite home improvement retailer in Malaysia. The case looked at the influence of e-commerce and digital transformation marks a rethinking of how an organisation uses technology, people and processes in pursuit of new business models and new revenue streams, driven by changes in customer expectations around products and services. Such transformation has indeed created opportunities and challenges for business organisation throughout the globe in their pursuit of staying competitive for MR.D.I.Y. even though they are considered the largest home improvement retailer in Malaysia. The case also introduces the students to the Uses and Gratification Theory that underpins the e-commerce business model. The management of the company is concerned about its future given the rising competition and gloomy economic conditions. Complexity academic level The target group for this case is undergraduate students. Specifically, it is suitable for those in the field of Entrepreneurship taking e-commerce/small business management/entrepreneurship courses. The main purpose of this case study is to assist students in critically examining how a small business evolved from a tiny neighbourhood shop to become a household name at the national level and eventually emerged as the largest home improvement company locally and abroad. Specifically, the case can be applied to topics like Retailing in Electronic Commerce, Innovative EC Systems, Social Commerce and Launching an Online Business, which all are related to the courses on E-Commerce, and this case is also suitable to any other contemporary business management module. Additionally, educators can use this teaching case as a tool in an executive programme for senior, middle and lower managers to shape their thoughts and attitudes toward managing a contemporary retailing business. With this case, it is hoped that students would be able to understand and decide wisely if they encounter similar circumstances in the future. Supplementary material Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Coping with Extortion: On Violence, Parasites, and Water Infrastructures in Buenaventura, Colombia

In this paper, I explore the coping mechanisms deployed by shopkeepers in the face of extortion in the port city of Buenaventura, in southwestern Colombia. Relying on six months of fieldwork experience in a hardware shop of Ciudad Blanca, an impoverished neighborhood, I examine the everyday violence and the responses of the population. Due to the deficient infrastructure in the city, people are forced to build small infrastructural arrangements, such as water storage systems, to access public services. Therefore, the circulation and availability of infrastructural devices such as pipes, hoses, and tanks are vital for the reproduction of life in the city. In this article, I argue that extortion (locally calledvacuna(‘vaccine’)) interferes in the circulation of these vital material commodities, making coping mechanisms crucial in the face of vulnerability and uncertainty. Recent scholarly literature has pointed to the influence of illegal economies in urban planning and organization. Going beyond that, I argue that organized crime interferes in the material practices of the urban poor, turning to the term ‘parasite’ posed by French philosopher Michel Serres to conceptualize this form of interference in the circulation of commodities.

Lead levels of new solvent-based household paints in Zimbabwe and Botswana: A preliminary study.

BackgroundLead paint remains a major potential source of lead poisoning globally, but there has been no documentation on lead content in solvent paints available on the markets in Zimbabwe and Botswana.AimTo determine the lead content of solvent-based paints available on the market in Zimbabwe and Botswana and identify a need for a larger study to inform policy.MethodsThis pilot study was conducted in Harare, Zimbabwe, and Gaborone, Botswana. Popular brands of solvent-based household paints were bought from hardware shops in Harare (10 samples) and Gaborone (19 samples). Samples were analysed for lead content using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry.ResultsSeventy percent of samples from Zimbabwe were found to contain lead above 90 parts per million (ppm), the recommended regulatory limit, with ranges from less than 60 ppm to 12 000 ppm. Twenty percent of Zimbabwean samples had lead levels above 10 000 ppm. No samples from Botswana had lead concentration above the detection limit, with all levels below 100 ppm.Lesson LearntData strongly suggest very high lead content in popular brands of solvent paints in Zimbabwe, indicating a need for a larger, well-designed study for policy direction.

Youth and Unemployment: Our Present Problem and a Missed Opportunity

Youth and Unemployment:Our Present Problem and a Missed Opportunity Jessika A. Bohlmann, Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu, and Darlington Mushongera Tshepo, a young South African, has faced huge life challenges in the last four years as he has struggled to focus on his studies amid numerous student protests against the hiking of university fees. Despite these challenges, he was determined to complete his undergraduate degree, which he did at the end of 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic persisting and lockdown rules in place, he was content with an online graduation ceremony in March of 2021. With a degree in hand, he entered the job market, expecting to soon get employment and begin a new and better life. Little did Tshepo know that getting a job was not as easy as he had thought. On June 16, Youth Day in South Africa, to his dismay, he heard devastating news in a televised speech, in which President Cyril Ramaphosa was addressing the nation on the commemoration of the 1976 student protests known as the Soweto uprising. Ramaphosa said, "Young people in our country still remain unemployed, and this is a national crisis; more than half of South Africans aged between sixteen and twenty-four are unemployed." This statement hit Tshepo hard. He had believed young people occupied an important place in South Africa, although remaining marginalized. More than four decades have passed since they began struggling to be recognized and have their plight heard, and yet now they find themselves unemployed. Darlington Mushongera caught up with Tshepo at one of the main hardware shops in Johannesburg, holding a placard saying PAINTER. He was one of many frequenting the place in the hope of attracting a client among those coming in to buy building material. Darlington stopped his car, and he was immediately surrounded by youths claiming they could do various home repair and renovation works. Tshepo was the lucky one, as Darlington picked him to do the work needed at his house. As they drove home, Tshepo shared his story. Darlington asked him how much money he made each day and why he had ended up doing this. Tshepo answered, "If you get one client on a single day, you're very lucky; otherwise you go home empty handed." A stone's throw from these young men were young women. Darlington asked Tshepo about them, and he answered, "They're also waiting for clients. [End Page 142] People come to look for someone to do their laundry or clean their homes. Life is so hard, and people are desperate. Any job will do." Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Tshepo waiting for clients. Photo by Darlington Mushongera. As researchers, we understood that unemployment was a problem in South Africa but had not come face to face with the reality of the problem, as demonstrated in Tshepo's story and the stories of many more who wait outside the hardware shop or along the streets, looking for any job. Tshepo's story gets us to think more deeply about the issue of unemployment in South Africa, particularly youth unemployment. As a result of this encounter, we set out to find the causes of unemployment among youth and investigate what the government was doing about it. The results of our research are telling. First, youth unemployment is a reality and a huge challenge. Second, government initiatives fall far short of absorbing most of those willing and able to work. Third, there is a clear mismatch between the skills youth have and existing jobs. Youth employment is a major challenge, not just for South Africa, but for Africa as a whole. A report from a local South African news show reported the youth saying: We, as the youth of today, don't see the freedoms that those youth of 1976 fought for. We still have too much unemployment. If we can actually see everything coming to the youth (better jobs, unemployment rate coming down), then I'd say that June 16—what they fought for—we can actually see it. But we don't have jobs. Each and every day, you have to sell something so that you have something to eat...

Modernization of the brake system of unwinding on rope machines

In order to reduce the cost of producing metal cord in the hardware shops of OJSC “BSW” – the Management Company of the Holding “BMC”, work is underway to modernize and select materials for replaceable technological equipment. In the process of twisting the metal cord on the unwinding of the power coils of rope machines, brake devices are used, consisting of a disk and sectors (pads) fixed in a chain. The elements of the unwinding unit are in constant contact, providing the necessary tension force for unwinding a thin wire. The performance of the braking devices affects the manufacturability of the twist, the absence of breaks, the density and geometric arrangement of the wires in the twisted metal cord that meets the requirements of consumers.Due to constant contact friction at high linear speeds, the brake pads wear out, which leads to emergency operation of the equipment. The article considers the test results of the modified thin wire unwinding unit and the impact of modernization on the service life of brake pads.

Experience in conducting tests on a torsiometer to determine the pitch of the metal cord

Hardware production is in continuous improvement: the requirements imposed by consumers stimulate the introduction of new technological solutions and equipment. For metal products produced by hardware shops (metal cord, wire for RVD, side bronzed wire), mechanical properties are important, which determine the strength, ductility and other characteristics of materials. Metal cord has a number of physical and chemical characteristics: the diameter of the metal cord, lay pitch, linear density, deviation from straightness, residual torsion, untwistability, characteristics of the brass coating-chemical composition – coating weight, brass thickness, adhesion, mechanical properties-breaking load, elongation at break.The article describes the procedure for measuring the size of the lay pitch on a torsiometer installed by Metro Com engineering S. p. A., Italy using an upgraded device with ten pulses (resolution of the turn counter = 0.1 rotation of the rotating clamp). Comparative tests of 2x0. 30NT metal cord samples taken from a single coil were performed using a device with a resolution of 0.25 turns and 0.1 turns of the rotating clamp of the installation to determine the pitch of the coil.

Identification of the Factors for the Selection of Cement Brands by Construction Companies and Selection of Optimal Cement Brand using TOPSIS for Kathmandu Valley along with the Physical Strength Comparison of Various Cement Brands

Cement comprises major proportion in any construction materials and the right selection of cement is equally important for construction companies. The objective of this research is to find the criteria used by the construction companies in cement selection and using the required criteria adopt TOPSIS (Technique of Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) as Multi Criteria Decision Making method for the selection of optimal cement brand among various cement brands for the construction projects in Kathmandu. Another objective is to find the physical characteristics of the selected cement brands in laboratory. For the methodology, non-random sampling was adopted. Data were collected by questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, KII and Lab test. For physical characteristics comparison of cement brands, samples were collected from hardware shop and lab test were conducted in private lab. For the factors in cement selection quality, ex-factory rate, credit-terms, delivery-time, relationship, self-clinker production, production-capacity, technology and financial-conditions were identified and ranked in relevant order. Six factors were chosen for TOPSIS for the six cement brands for Kathmandu valley. From TOPSIS, it was foundSarbottam cement is best suited for projects in Kathmandu valley in terms of physical strength Hongshi had the highest 3 and 7 days of compressive strength where as Sarbottam had highest 28 days strength. Maruti cement had longest setting time whereas United cement had shortest setting time. 28 days strength of all the cement were as per the NS 49whereas except for Maruti and Shivam, all the brands had strength as per IS 8112 criteria.

The influence of the characteristics of breaking test units on the results of testing plastic properties of the wire RML

For metal products manufactured by hardware shops (metal cord, PML wire and side bronzed wire), the most important mechanical properties are those, that determine the strength, ductility and other characteristics of the materials. The article describes the characteristics of breaking test unit that affect the results of tests of plastic properties of RML wire. The analysis of the test conditions and factors affecting the test results was made.

Centralization of maintenance services hardware shops

«Belarusian Metallurgical Works – the Management Company of the Holding «Belarusian Metallurgical Company». Organizational communication between the main production shops of the enterprise and repair shop of the equipment of hardware shops at planning, preparation and implementation of repairs of the equipment of structural divisions, and also acceptance of the equipment after the carried-out repair is provided. The organizational structure of management of shop on repair of the equipment of hardware shops of the enterprise is presented. Prospects of development at the centralized organization of repair service are noted. The main advantages and disadvantages of centralization of repair service of the enterprise peculiar to such organization of repairs are formulated. The variants of material stimulation of the personnel of the workshop on repair of the equipment of hardware shops and personnel of the main shops of hardware production of the enterprise are offered.

Occupational Hand Eczema among Cement users in Nepal

Background: Occupational dermatitis among cement workers is a major occupational health concern and skin contact with cement has been associated with contact dermatitis, which ranges from cement burns to cumulative irritant contact dermatitis. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and severity of occupational cement contact dermatitis amongst cement workers in Nepal which is the first of its kind. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study amongst patients in construction site and hardware shops within the Kathmandu valley were selected. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate the demographic data and work-related activities of these cement workers. A complete skin examination was conducted and skin manifestations were assessed by a dermatologist. The data collected was compiled and appropriate statistical tools was used to find out the significance of variables. Result: Out of the total number of workers screened 164/377 (43.50%) had hand contact dermatitis. There were males 148(90.2%) and females16 (9.8%) and the age ranged from 15-51 years ( mean 27.41± 7.68 years).The duration of the disease ranged from 1-360 months (median 36months (IQR=60).The most common site of lesion was palms (62.8%) followed by tip of the fingers in 39.0% patients and the most common morphology of the lesion was erythema seen in 59.1% followed by scaling seen in 51.8 % patients. Conclusion: The issue of contact and irritant hand eczema amongst cement workers in Nepal has had a considerable morbidity. Identification of these patients with adequate treatment, test of the suspected allergens and counseling could further help the patients involved.

Prevalence of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Blantyre - Malawi

The industrial and agricultural revolutions have led to the development of a variety of chemicals ranging from insecticides, pesticides, fungicides and bactericides. However the demand for these chemicals led the manufacturers to manufacture the chemicals without considering the sustainability of using such chemicals. During the last half of the 20th century, the global environment has become contaminated with a number of persistent and fat-soluble chemical contaminants, commonly referred to as the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). These compounds generally have low water solubility, do not degrade readily in the environment, bio-accumulate in food chains, and have been linked to adverse health effects in both humans and wildlife. In order to develop appropriate strategies and institutional responses, it is pertinent to assess the prevalence of the variety of organic pollutants and the people’s understanding and awareness of POPs that pose a threat to the biophysical aspect of the environment, if used or disposed of in unsupervised means. Thus, this study sought to assess the inventory of POPs, level of awareness and measures used in dealing with the chemicals in Blantyre, Malawi. The researchers used a qualitative research design. The research instruments used were a questionnaire, key-informant interviews and observations. The study focused on Ndirande peri-urban area comprising Mulanje, Thyolo, Zomba, Chiradzulu and Njuli. A random sample of sixty-four respondents was selected and a total of 64 questionnaires administered. The survey covered 5 sites that included markets, agro-dealers, hardware shops, estates and chemical companies. Descriptive statistics were obtained from key- informant interviews and observations. Findings revealed that despite the banning of POPs in Malawi as a signatory to the Stockholm Convention of 2001, the illegal usage and selling of banned POPs was rampant with hardware shops, agro-dealers and vendors. The survey also revealed low level of awareness and knowledge about POPs pesticides especially among the general public in Ndirande Peri-urban. There was presence of Chlordane as the most common pesticide used to control termites and was mainly sourced by the local farmers from the market vendors, hardware shops and Agro-dealers. The pesticide DDT was identified as resurfacing with its source into the country linked to Mozambican traders. The majority of the farmers cited DDT as the main pesticide used to control termites and protect crops such as maize after harvest. In addition the survey revealed the presence of a power utility with a number of obsolete transformers suspected to be contaminated with PCBs still waiting to be disposed for incineration at Blantyre West Sub-station. The researchers observed that this placed at high risk the workers at the power utility of PCBs due to lack of adequate protective wear. It was observed that children were mainly exposed through improperly disposed obsolete pesticides, insecticides and chemical containers. The study concluded that there is need for education of people to ensure their awareness of the dangers associated with the illegal pesticides usage. Integrated Pest Management was recommended as the best alternative approach in peri-urban agriculture.

The Life-Cycle Costs of School Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Access in Kenyan Primary Schools

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programs in schools can increase the health, dignity and comfort of students and teachers. Understanding the costs of WASH facilities and services in schools is one essential piece for policy makers to utilize when budgeting for schools and helping to make WASH programs more sustainable. In this study we collected data from NGO and government offices, local hardware shops and 89 rural primary schools across three Kenyan counties. Current expenditures on WASH, from school and external (NGO, government, parent) sources, averaged 1.83 USD per student per year. After reviewing current expenditures, estimated costs of operations and maintenance for bringing schools up to basic WASH standards, were calculated to be 3.03 USD per student per year. This includes recurrent costs, but not the cost of installing or setting up WASH infrastructure, which was 18,916 USD per school, for a school of 400 students (4.92 USD per student, per year). These findings demonstrate the need for increases in allocations to schools in Kenya, and stricter guidance on how money should be spent on WASH inputs to enable all schools to provide basic WASH for all students.

Driving sales through disintermediation approach: a case of RFL Plastics Limited in Bangladesh

RFL Plastics, subsidiary of RFL Industries, has unmatched plastic products whose name has received trust, quality and assurance all over Bangladesh. This paper is an exploratory case study that focuses on how this plastic manufacturing company reaches out directly to customers through their unique supply chain concept - disintermediation. Using case study methodology, we conclude that introduction of disintermediation in its supply chain management has mostly made 'RFL Best Buy', 'RFL Exclusive' and 'RFL Plastics Online Shop' the future of RFL Plastics, since it eliminates intermediaries and allows more managerial control over products. Moreover, given the non-perishable nature of products, RFL applies four different approaches in its supply chain, initiating from traditional hardware shops to the recent online shops. Disintermediation approach has therefore brought radical changes in the scale, dynamism and structure of the entire organisation of RFL. Although a single case study is the limitation here, discussion and conclusions are addressed for this article.

Determinants of SMEs growth and performance in Cameroon’s central and littoral provinces’ manufacturing and retail sectors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss growth and performance of small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Central and Littoral provinces of Cameroon’s manufacturing and retail sectors. Design/methodology/approach – A full survey of 700 randomly selected SMEs owner-managers was conducted though only 575 enterprises were retained for analysis after performing the coherence test. The survey was conducted in the central and littoral regions, the location of almost 70 per cent of the SMEs in Cameroon. The survey questionnaire administered consisted of about 50-60 questions covering the profile of the business owner, and business growth and performance. The full sample consists mainly of enterprises in the tertiary and secondary sectors. They were mostly retails and wholesales (supermarket, hardware shop, clothing shop, perfume shops and liquor store). Although, the secondary sector contributes 31 per cent of Cameroon's GDP and employs 15 per cent of the population, they are mostly large enterprises, with very few SMEs. Hence few businesses were interviewed in this sector. Findings – Business location affects turnover growth. The likelihood of negative growth or zero growth decreases with the age of enterprise. Increased levels of education result in improved turnover growth. There is no association of gender of with growth of business turnover. The burden imposed by municipal regulation and compliance with it negatively affects turnover growth. Time taken to be in compliance with tax regulations overall also negatively affects turnover growth. Social implications – Disseminating regulatory information to SMEs would be useful in order to improve compliance in general and newly formed enterprises located in the Littoral Province in particular. It is important to reduce regulatory burden on SMEs overall. Restrictive trade and business regulations in Africa tend to be largely devised through negotiated settlements with large corporates, and the onerous requirements tend to be inappropriate and out of reach for small, medium and micro firms. The business environment in the Littoral Province should be improved. Originality/value – Studies that examine econometric determinants of the growth of SMEs in Africa, and especially in Cameroon are few indeed. This is an area that is very crucial to examine and fully understand for policy development.

Weld Quality Assurance Practices in the Metal Welding Industries in Ghana

This study investigates the weld quality assurance practices in the metal welding industries in Ghana. The data for the study were collected using questionnaire, interview and personal discussions. One hundred and twenty informal sector welders, 80 formal sector welders, and 25 welding hardware shops/dealers were contained in the analyzed sample. The results of the analysis revealed that majority of the welding industries in the country lack weld quality assurance standards, weld quality testing equipments and materials as well as personnel to help assure weld quality practices in the metal welding industries. Also, equipments and materials for welding inspection and testing are not readily available in the welding hardware shops in the country. Moreover, even though most of the welders in the country have considerable years of working experience, they lack the skills of ensuring quality in their welding activities due to low levels of technical training. To instill professionalism into the welding industry, the suppliers should import the weld quality testing equipments into the country to be made available to the welders. The welders and the suppliers should take advantage of training programs offered by the training institutions in the country to enable them upgrade and update their knowledge and skills in weld quality assurance practices. The Government, the banks and other corporate organizations should help establish industries solely to produce more of the weld quality testing equipments locally in the country. This indeed, will help create more jobs and reduce the unemployment rates in the country.

Skies Like These by Tess Hilmo (review)

Reviewed by: Skies Like These by Tess Hilmo Amy Atkinson Hilmo, Tess Skies Like These. Ferguson/Farrar, 2014 [240p] ISBN 978-0-374-36998-9 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 3-5 This summer, twelve-year-old Jade finds herself in Wyoming visiting her aunt, a former lawyer who left the rat race to run a doggy dude ranch. Though at first uneasy, if not unhappy, at leaving Philadelphia, Jade soon finds herself enjoying the west, with its fast-moving storms, open spaces, and vast, starry night skies. It helps that she receives a warm welcome from her aunt and the pooches at her dog-boarding business, as well as from the neighboring Parkers, whose son Joshua goes by “Roy” and insists that his lineage traces to a more famous Roy Parker—the Robin Hood cowboy, Butch Cassidy. Upset that a new big box store put his father’s hardware shop out of business, Roy tries to rope Jade into scheme after scheme worthy of Butch and his sidekick, the Sundance Kid; though Jade’s spirit of adventure certainly grows over the summer, she draws the line at robbing a bank, and she struggles to find a more constructive way to help her new friend. This novel succeeds in its celebration of the west, but it falls short in skillful execution of story, with stilted exposition, unnatural dialogue, and limited characterization for Jade (though spunky Roy proves engaging and sympathetic). Audiences looking for a quick escape may nonetheless enjoy the Wyoming landscape and its trappings, and puppy-lovers will enjoy the four-legged background characters whose names and personalities imbue this novel with a little spirit. [End Page 29] Copyright © 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Evaluation of Plaster of Paris and Some Fungicides for Management of Foot rot ofAmorphophallus campanulatusBlume Caused bySclerotium rolfsiiSacc.

Incidence of Foot rot disease of Elephant foot yam [Amorphophallus campanulatus Blume, syn: A. paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson] caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. is common in West Bengal. Occasionally it causes severe damage of the crop. When Plaster of Paris used on the diseased tissue in standing crop, it showed strong adverse effect on mycelial growth and survival of sclerotia. White mycelia and sclerotia produced on disease tissue lost their viability. Plant with small lesion grew normally indicating that the disease was checked without causing any phytotoxic effect. Plaster of Paris of commercial grade (CaSO4.½ H2O), available in synthetic bag in hardware shop. In laboratory test on viability of sclerotia, Plaster of Paris showed similar adverse effect. Eight fungicides (Indofil M-45, Bavistin, Blitox, Vitavax Power, Kavach, Curzet, Krilaxyl MZ) used in this test reduced sclerotial germination. Vitavax Power (Carboxin 37.5% + Thiram 37.5% WP) totally inhibited sclerotial germination. Kavach (Chlorothalonil 75%) and Krilaxyl MZ (Metalaxyl 8% + Mancozeb 64%) reduced germination upto 95%. Application of Plaster of Paris at three different doses at the base of the plant (2.0, 5.0 and 10.0 grams/plant) did not cause any phytotoxic symptoms like necrosis, epinasty, hyponasty, wilting, leaf tip injury, leaf surface injury, vein clearing, rotting at collar region on six different crops i.e. elephant foot yam, groundnut, brinjal, chilli, basella and radish. Hence, it may be incorporated in Integrated Disease Management (IDM) programme.

The Country Store: In Search of Mercantiles and Memories in the Ozarks

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There's nothing quite like going back home. If, like me, you're a child of the rural South, you'll know that feeling, see and smell and hear and feel that feeling. The smell of tilled earth or freshly cut hay, the crackle of a gravel road beneath hard rubber, that old whiff of red oak and varnish in the church house, low clouds of wood-stove smoke on winter mornings, jar flies on sultry summer days, lightning bugs and a Chuck-will's-widow in a dusky hollow. You can even taste it: well-water from a faucet, Momma's cornbread and pinto beans, cappuccino and a slice of Arrezzio's Chicago-style with black olives and banana peppers from the country store. Takes you back, doesn't it? Nothing reminds me of dear ol' Aunt Nellie quite like pizza, espresso, and frothing milk--except for maybe a Harley-Davidson do-rag, lemongrass soap, and a fifteen-minute bake in a tanning bed, all of which you can get at the country store, too. You know, back there next to the hoe handles and saw blades and pig shorts--the kind for feeding, not wearing. A couple of generations ago, a traveler in the rural South encountered a general mercantile every five miles or so. Most were simple establishments, combining the functions of filling stations, groceries, feed stores, hardware shops, and community centers under one roof. They were family-owned and operated, with the owners often occupying living quarters in back, upstairs, or in a house next door. Sometimes the country store was also home to the community post office, all the more reason for people to gather on the front porch or huddle around the potbellied stove inside. This country store of yesteryear no longer exists. Even in the most remote nooks and crannies of the South--Appalachia, the Ozarks, the Delta--the nostalgia seeker will come up short in the quest for mercantiles reminiscent of Lure and Abner's old Jot-em-Down Store, with its hand-cranked telephone, its cracker barrels and nail kegs, its bologna and produce hanging from the rafters, its fifty-pound sacks of flour and twenty-pound bags of sugar, its Bull of the Woods tobacco and Red Top snuff, its hardwood floors and creaking screen door and clanging wooden cash register. Yet, the essence of the country store, its immutable country storeness, has survived, even as the symbols by which it was once identified have faded into the past. In the face of a succession of challenges--parcel post and mail-order houses, automobiles and the good roads movement, dime stores and supermarkets and Walmart--the country store survives, albeit in scarcer quantities and with an evolution over time that has kept it relevant to its rural clientele. The survivors--and there are more of them than you might imagine--are models of adaptation. Country merchants no longer buy much of anything from their customers, no cream or eggs, apples, or hickory handles. They no longer furnish sharecroppers and small landowners in exchange for 10 percent per annum interest rates and liens on crops either. Instead, you will find in the Ozarks dozens of stores that serve their local customers in many of the same ways that their predecessors served rural communities generations ago, by providing feed and fertilizer, gasoline and farm diesel, tools and local gossip, groceries and tobacco products, overalls and work boots, benches and a warm stove. The country store has evolved to meet the changing needs of a rural clientele more likely to drive thirty miles to work in service jobs in the county seat than to spend all day plowing the back forty, gathering eggs, and milking cows. They also continue to provide a glimpse into life in the modern-day rural South, just as what remains of their predecessors, the yellowed photographs and musty ledgers and daybooks, provide an invaluable window into the region's past. As we are all susceptible to the pull of nostalgia, the country store's hallowed position in our collective memory seems secure. …

INFLUENCE OF SURFACE DEFECTS, INHERITED FROM ROLLED WIRE, ON QUALITY OF A COLD-DRAWN WIRE

Researches of the most often occurred surface defects of rolled wires, their modification at drawing and influence on technological process and quality of cold-drawn wire with regard to working conditions of hardware shops of OAO “BMZ” are presented.

Substantive Thoughts? The Early Work of Alighiero Boetti

Addressing the origins of his practice retrospectively, Alighiero Boetti assigned peculiar weight to a series of seemingly banal gestures enacted at a time when he did not view himself as an artist. He thus located the beginnings of his artistic work in pre- or non-artistic forms of self-consciousness and materiality. Boetti’s report of cutting grass in Vagliumina, an Alpine village north of the artist’s native city of Turin, is a case in point. How were the clippings arranged in the countryside that day—in tidy, one-cubic-meter stacks, perhaps, or in a single inchoate mound? Such actions, real or imagined, are implicitly equated with Boetti’s later work, and the comparison is well-grounded. (Take, for example, the resemblance between Boetti’s construction of a pillar made from pieces of brown paper in 1948 and his piling of doilies purchased from a pastry shop along metallic axes to fashion Colonne (Columns) in Rome twenty years later.) The behaviors recounted above are most pertinent to Boetti’s threedimensional works from 1966 to 1969, which were made from a variety of materials acquired at hardware shops, building supply stores, and flea markets, such as Perspex, PVC pipes, metallic screening, copper, Eternit, prefabricated cork letters, and camouflage fabric—that is to say, his Arte Povera work. Rather than taking Arte Povera as its point of departure, however, this article approaches