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This article presents information on the technical meetings and workshops held by a number of Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Groups and Committees during the Fall 1970 Joint Computer Conference in Houston, Texas. Among the more ambitious ACM-related events held in Houston was an evening panel session on Social Implications of Computer Technology. Sponsorship support came jointly from the ACM Special Interest Committee on Computers and Society, the Social Implications Committee of the IEEE Computer Group, and the AFIPS Social Implications Committee. The high caliber of the panelists was matched by that of the discussion which took place during the session. Shortly before the ACM Council authorized its conversion into a Group, the Special Interest Committee on File Description and Translation brought together representatives from commerce, industry, government and universities, meeting to exchange technical information on data description and access. Papers and discussions alike reflected interests going from the theoretical to the practical, and efforts ranging from individual projects to large committee undertakings.

The article discusses how U.S. companies conduct Christmas parties and Christmas giving. It highlights the two-day Christmas party of Boeing Airplane Co., which was attended by 85,000 employees, relatives, and children and held at the athletic pavilion of University of Washington. It states that a natural gas company in Houston, Texas gives tailor-made suit to its employees while a law firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania gives electric alarm clock.

The article reports on the versatility of the 20,000 ton forging press constructed by Cameron Iron Works Inc. in Houston, Texas. The machine has been considered more versatile to other big presses in terms of forgings with undercuts, and capacity to turn out huge backward extrusions. The machine has been estimated to cost four to five million U.S. dollars.

The article presents information on the chronology of events related to the field of computer industry. Workshop on Quantized Computer Graphics Systems, Argonnc National Laboratory, to be held from November 14-15, 1972 in Argonne, Illinois. Data Centre 72, to be held from November 15-17, 1972 in Sheraton-Copenhagen Hotel, Copenhagen, Denmark. The Sixth Asilomar Conference on Circuits and Systems, to be held from November 15-17, 1972 in Asilomar Hotel and Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, California. Conference 72, organized by Data Processing Management Association, to be held from November 16-17, 1972 in New York City, New York. The 8th Data Processing Conference of the Information Processing Association of Israel, to be held from November 20-21, 1972 in Hilton Hotel, Tel Aviv. The U.S. Exhibition at COMPUTER 72, to be held from December 4-8, 1972 in Olympia Exhibition Hall, London, England. The American Mathematical Society 79th Annual Meeting, to be held from January 25-29, 1973 in Dallas, Texas.

The article discusses the trend toward formal management development programs. The new six-week executive development program offered by the University of Houston in Texas was modelled after the Advanced Management Course of Harvard University. John O. Parrott, an assistant general superintendent of Champion Paper & Fibre Company, had to do specialized reading, had a chance to express himself, and learned more about marketing and labor relations.

The article offers information on the expansion plans of Monsanto Chemical Co. in the plastic industry. It is stated that the company will install a major styrene plant at Texas City, Texas, along with the 50,000-ton styrene monomer plant of the company. Monsanto is purchasing the monomer plant from the War Assets Administration for 9,500,000 dollars. It is stated that with this expansion, the company will be producing polystyrene plastic at the rate of 80,000,000 pound a year in 1947.

The article reports that Dresser Industries Inc. has come up with a nonchemical oxygen plant in Winshire, Texas which will use cooling water and fuel gas for oxygen production.

The article reports on the flour contracted by the Mexican government from mills in Texas and Oklahoma. With the government's acquisition of 300,000 counterweight (cwt) flour, millers and the food industry believe that U.S. flour will flow across the border at the rate of 300,000 to 400,00 cwt a month. The Mexican government has acquired the flour without tariff barrier. The renewal of flour trade with Mexico is reportedly due to several factors including the boost of tariff to protect Mexican flour mills.

The article mentions about the business expansion plans of Paper Mills Inc. in Texas with the help of finances from Reconstruction Finance Corp. and publishers of the state.

The article reports that Texas has produced 100,000 barrels of oil daily, while the Texas Road Commission had been containing oil by imposing permits on selling petroleum products.