| January-February 2006
Civil Rights | Education-Academic
|Immigration | Media
| Multiculturalism/Multicultural Society
| Religion |Seniors
| Social Trends & Demographics |
Volunteerism |Women |
E1 - Remembering Rosa Parks. The Life and the Legacy of ‘the Mother’ of the Civil Rights Movement
Chappell, Kevin
Ebony, January 2006, v61, #3, pp126-132
It has taken time and reverence, death and tribute for history
to fully record how the events on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama,
in December 1955 lifted America to a higher calling and Rosa Parks
to iconic status. The author recounts details of that day and
its aftermath, and its impact on numerous individuals who later
became pivotal in civil rights history, and describes how Parks
was commemorated across the nation in the days following her recent
death at 92. Fulltext
E2 - Higher Education and Economic Growth: A Conference Report
Mattoon, Richard H.
Chicago Fed Letter; Jan2006 Special Issue Issue 222A, p1, 4p
“This article presents a conference report about higher education
and economic growth at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on
November 2, 2005. The one-day conference was cosponsored by the
bank, the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, and the Midwestern
Higher Education Compact… Several strategies for restoring the
higher education social compact was suggested by Michael Moskow,
president and CEO of the Chicago Fed. He discussed the issue of
financial support for higher education and noted that while the
relationship between education, productivity, and economic growth
has never been clearer, financial support for higher education
has waned while costs have continued to rise.” Richard H.Mattoon,
Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Fulltext
E3 - Growing by Degrees - Online Education in the United States, 2005
Allen, Elaine; Joyce, Kevern R.; Seaman, Jeff Ph.D.
Sloan Report released November 2005, online edition
Online learning is expanding rapidly and the number of students who study online has been increasing at a rate far in excess of the rate of growth in the overall higher education student population. The third annual report on the state of online education in U.S. Higher Education is based on responses from over 1,0000 colleges and universities. The study, aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education, provides key findings about U.S. higher education online education. “Over 2.35 million students took at least one online course during Fall 2004, sixty-five percent of higher education institutions report that they are using primarily core faculty to teach their online courses, the overall percent of schools identifying online education as a critical long-term strategy grew from 49% in 2003 to 56% in 2005, and sixty-three percent of schools offering undergraduate face-to-face courses also offer undergraduate courses online. Fulltext
E4 - Ferment and Change: Higher Education in 2015
Yankelovish, Daniel
Chronicle of Higher Education, November 25, 2005, v52, #14, ppB6-B9
"This article attempts to explore the state and nature of higher education in the year 2015 in the United States. Five trends, if they encounter little friction or resistance, will radically transform higher education in the coming years. Those five trends are not the only forces pressuring colleges. But unlike some of the others--such as the impact of technology on teaching and research--they are not yet receiving ample attention. And, taken together, they pose an enormous challenge that, if neglected, will mean serious trouble for higher education and the United States. Conversely, the more effectively colleges respond to such trends, the better off they and our nation will be. Some of these trends are: changing life cycles as the U.S.' population ages; growing vulnerability of the U.S. in science and technology; and the need to understand other cultures and languages.” Fulltext
E5 - Chronicling Higher Education for Nearly Forty Years
Baldwin, Joyce
Carnegie Results (Carnegie Corporation of New York), Winter 2006, 12 p
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a weekly newspaper that focuses
on the activities of colleges and universities. It will soon celebrate
its 40th anniversary. The impact of the Chronicle on the world
of higher education goes beyond the circulation figures. As this
article points out, "In the decades since the first issue appeared,
the Chronicle has covered many topics such as cold fusion, plagiarism
and evolution that its readership intrinsically seeks at a depth
that most of the daily press does not provide. Even today, many
newspapers do not often cover higher education from a national
perspective, and, when they do, their articles usually follow
a Chronicle story on the same subject." Joyce Baldwin has
written on a wide range of topics for many national publications.
Fulltext
E6 - Dual Allegiance. A Challenge to Immigration Reform and Patriotic Assimilation
Fonte, John
Center for Immigration Studies, Backgrounder, November 2005, 24p.
”If immigration proposals currently before Congress, such as the McCain-Kennedy or Kyl-Cornyn bills, are enacted without changes, they would contribute to the ongoing rapid spread of dual allegiance among U.S. citizens. Do we want this process to continue by default, or should the United States begin to reject immigrant dual allegiance in principle and take measures to restrict it in practice? This is the question asked … in a new paper. … The paper … begins with a foreword by Newt Gingrich, and an Introduction by Thomas L. Bock, National Commander of the American Legion, and Dr. Herbert I. London, President of the Hudson Institute.”
John Fonte is a Senior Fellow, and Director of the Center for American Common Culture, at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. Fulltext
E7 - Divided Over Immigration
Delson, Jennifer
Hispanic, October 2005, v18, #10, pp18-24
The author notes that a recent survey by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that the Hispanic population in the U.S. is no longer the monolith many assume it to be - and Hispanics are increasingly divided over the issue of illegal immigration. Some believe that the continuing influx of illegal Hispanic immigrants "brings down the status of the group" by worsening the atmosphere in established Hispanic communities and draining funds for public services. Still, the majority of Hispanics favor some kind of legal status that would allow undocumented immigrants to work openly, and not have to make the dangerous trip through the Southwest desert. Many favor beefing up the U.S. Border Patrol, but are opposed to private-citizen vigilante groups. Delson notes that this survey is a sign of the complexity of views among the Latino population across the U.S. Fulltext
E8 - Immigrants at Mid-Decade. A Snapshot of America's Foreign-Born Population in 2005
Camarota, Steven A.
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, December 2005, 32p.
“As the nation considers immigration proposals from Congress and
the President, a Center for Immigration Studies analysis of new
Census Bureau data shows that the immigrant population (legal
and illegal) reached a new high in 2005. The data, which the Bureau
has not yet analyzed, also show that 2000-2005 is the highest
five-year period of new immigration (legal and illegal) in American
history. Almost half of new arrivals are estimated to be illegal
aliens. The new report provides a detailed picture of the socio-economic
status of immigrants, including estimates for illegal aliens.
States with the largest increase in immigrants are California,
Texas Georgia, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
Washington, Virginia, Arizona, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Nevada.”
Steven A. Camarota is the Director of Research at the Center
for Immigration Studies. Fulltext
E9 - Immigration and National Security
Ting, Jan C.
Orbis, January 2006, v50, #1, pp41-52
In this article the author argues that the greatest threat to
U.S. homeland security comes from illegals who enter the country
through its porous borders, and that the tide of illegal immigration
must be stemmed in order to secure the United States against terrorism.
Legal immigration itself needs reform, too; particularly the visa-waiver
program and the rules governing dual citizenship, which pose further
security challenges. He concludes that federal government officials
must overcome their fear of alienating ethnic voters and American
business, enhance border security, and reform the nation's immigration
policies. Fulltext
E10 - Are Newspapers Doomed?
Epstein, Joseph
Commentary, January 2006, v121, #1, pp46-51
"Statistics on readership have been pointing downward, significantly downward, for some time now. Four-fifths of Americans once read newspapers; today, apparently fewer than half do. Among adults, in the decade 1990-2000, daily readership fell from 52.6 percent to 37.5 percent. Among the young, things are much worse: in one study, only 19 percent of those between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four reported consulting a daily paper, and only 9 percent trusted the information purveyed there; a mere 8 percent found newspapers helpful, while 4 percent thought them entertaining. From 1999 to 2004, according to the Newspaper Association of America, general circulation dropped by another 1.3 million. Reflecting both that fact and the ferocious competition for classified ads from free online bulletin boards like craigslist.org, advertising revenue has been stagnant at best, while printing and productions costs have gone remorselessly upward." Fulltext
E11 - Waivering
Smolkin, Rachel
American Journalism Review, February/March 2006
A number of journalists have testified about their conversations
with confidential sources after receiving waivers from the sources
freeing them to do so. Is this a pragmatic way to stay out of
jail or a breach of journalistic ethics that could pose big problems
for the profession? Rachel Smolkin is AJR’s managing editor.
Fulltext
E12 - Name That Source
Toobin, Jeffrey
New Yorker, January 16, 2006, v81, #44, pp30-36
The author discusses cases in which journalists are being asked to identify their sources by the U.S. government. The U.S. Justice Department launched a criminal investigation of possible leaks of classified information to the New York Times, which on December 16, 2005, citing anonymous government officials, reported that the National Security Agency had engaged in warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens. Fulltext
E13 - A Distorted Nation: Perceptions of Racial/Ethnic Group Sizes and Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Other Minorities
Alba, Richard
Social Forces, December 2005, v84, #2; p901-920
"Using a special module (MEUS) of the 2000 General Social Survey,
we investigate Americans' perceptions of the racial and ethnic
composition of the United States. We show that, because of innumeracy,
it is critical to gauge perceptions through relative, rather than
absolute, group sizes. Even so, it appears that, as of 2000, roughly
half of Americans believed that whites had become a numerical
minority; such perceptions were even more common among minority-group
members than among whites. Majority-group respondents' perceptions
of the relative sizes of minorities affect their attitudes towards
immigrants, blacks and Hispanics, with those having the most distorted
perceptions holding the most negative attitudes. Although perceptions
of group sizes in the nation are linked to the perceived racial/ethnic
composition of the communities where respondents reside, the effects
of the former on attitudes are largely independent of the latter.
Our findings highlight the frequently overlooked value of an old
bromide against prejudice: education." Richard Alba is professor
at the Department of Sociology, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany,
New York. (ES). Fulltext
E14 - Important Trends on Religion
Bowman, Karlyn H.
AEI Online, December 16, 2005, p9
"This AEI Study in Public Opinion takes a look at religion in
America today, examining such topics as religious faith and practice;
the acceptability of candidates of different religions; President
George W. Bush’s faith; religion in public life; vote by denomination;
journalists as compared with the general American public; and
international comparisons of religion." Karlyn H. Bowman is
a resident fellow at AEI. Fulltext
E15 - American Muslims and the Rediscovery of America's Sacred Ground
Khan, Muqtedar
Brooking Institution, December 22, 2005, online edition, 20p. (from "Taking Religious Pluralism Seriously: Spiritual Politics on America's Sacred Ground," ed. Barbara McGraw (Baylor University Press, 2005)
"The American Muslim community is at a crucial crossroads. It
is experiencing an existential crisis. Students of Islam in the
West are beginning to ask questions about the future of Islam,
and Muslims in an increasingly Islamophobic West are growing wary
of the unrest and growing tide of extremism in the Muslim world.1
At the same time, American Muslims have reached a critical mass.
This gives them a presence that promises influence in the mainstream
society, and a visibility that also attracts a backlash, as people
fear its growth and influence. Some scholars, such as Fawaz Gerges,
maintain that the contemporary Arab and Muslim experience is similar
to that of communities such as American Jews and Irish Americans,
who too were assimilated only after being discriminated against,
marginalized, and oppressed.2 The difference is that the catastrophic
events of September 11, 2001, and the open-ended "war on terror"
has exaggerated and traumatized further the potential for Muslims
to become fully participating members in the greater American
society..." Muqtedar Khan, Nonresident Fellow, Project on
U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World. Fulltext
E16 - Spirit Wars
Schmidt, Leigh E
The Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 2005, v29, #4, pp42-49
The spectacular resurgence of evangelical Christianity has obscured
the fact that there’s another side to the American religious coin.
Spiritual seekers, from New Age animists to sober U.S. senators,
have a long and honorable lineage in American life—and the potential
to inspire a rebirth of liberal politics. Leigh E. Schmidt
is professor of religion at Princeton University and the author
most recently of Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality
(2005), from which this essay has been developed. Fulltext
Seniors
E17 - The Science of Aging Gracefully: Scientists and the Public Talk about Aging Research
Alison Kadlic and Ana Maria Arumi, with John Immerwahr and Lucyann Barry
December 11, 2005, 32p, online edition
(Public Agenda for the Alliance for Aging Research and the American Federation for Aging Research. The report is being presented at the White House Conference on Aging, which begins on Sunday, December 11, 2005.)
This study examines the views of scientists who study aging and
compares them to the broader public. Scientists say the field
is on the threshold of a new way of thinking, shifting focus from
specific illnesses to searching to understand aging itself as
a biological process. The report suggests that many of the scientists'
concerns about the public's understanding of these issues emanate
from political arguments or media coverage rather than actual
public opinion at large. For example, researchers are generally
pessimistic about public support for funding, but the research
suggests the public seems to be far more supportive of basic aging
research than the official political voices might lead scientists
to believe. In the study, The Science of Aging Gracefully: Scientists
and the Public Talk about Aging Research, scientists identified
three major factors that are driving progress in the field of
aging research: research in genetics, development of new technology
and integration of knowledge from different fields. Prepared for
the Alliance for Aging Research and the American Federation for
Aging Research. Funded by MetLife Foundation with additional
support from Atlantic Philanthropies, Ellison Medical Foundation,
John A. Hartford Foundation, Pfizer Inc and Retirement Research
Foundation. The report is being presented at the White House Conference
on Aging. Fulltext
E18 - Swinging 60s?
Jones, Landon Y.
Smithsonian, January 2006, v36, #10, pp102-107
"The article reports on the first baby boomer, Kathleen Casey,
born one second after midnight January 1, 1946, and now turning
sixty. Casey's life has been marked by many baby-boomer milestones.
She danced on American Bandstand as a teenager, and married young.
Her husband went to Vietnam as a doctor, and when he returned
she raised their two children and got her master's degree in health
education. She divorced in the 1980s and remarried, and taught
nutrition in public schools for 13 years. Casey is now making
a contribution to the world around her, volunteering in the 1993
Mississippi River floods and helping to train shelter workers
in Baton Rouge after Hurricane Katrina." Landon Y. Jones is
a former editor of People Magazine.
Fulltext
E19 - Doom and Demography
Eberstadt, Nicholas
Wilson Quarterly, Winter 2006, v30, #1, pp27-31
"For decades, the world has been haunted by ominous and recurrent
reports of impending demographic doom. In 1968, Paul Ehrlich's
neo-Malthusian manifesto, The Population Bomb, predicted mass
starvation in the 1970s and 1980s. The Limits to Growth, published
by the global think tank Club of Rome in 1972, portrayed a computer-model
apocalypse of overpopulation. Here, Eberstadt examines the number-laden
predictions about the purportedly devastating toll of the population
explosion in the century". Nicholas Eberstadt is the Henry
Wendt Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise
Institute. Fulltext
Urban Society
E20 - Beyond Sprawl: Rethinking Humanity’s Habitats
Wagner, Cynthia G.
The Futurist, January/February 2006, v,40, # 1, pp35-43
How will technology affect where we live in the future? How will where we live affect our technology? This special section tries to provide answers through articles by several futurists, who examine the challenges facing tomorrow’s human habitat planners.
- A New Garden of Eden
Mitchell, William J.
Futurist; Jan/Feb2006, Vol. 40 #1, pp39-40
MIT architecture professor William J. Mitchell envisions how computer networking will connect more people in more ways and transform cities, both practically and conceptually.
- "New Villages for a New Era"
McIntyre, Robert
Futurist; Jan/Feb2006, Vol. 40 #1, pp36-38
“New Villages” developer Robert McIntyre shows how we could make better use of rural communities to accommodate people’s desire for less-hectic lifestyles that are still connected, via communications technologies, with their jobs and communities.
- “Of Neighborhoods, Networks, and Nodes”
Rushkoff, Douglas
Futurist; Jan/Feb2006, Vol. 40 #1, pp40-41
Media and cultural critic Douglas Rushkoff describes a new priority for many people to be more in tune with their physical and social environments. He suggests that we may see the end of “fortress” cities as we find ways to make our future towns more pleasant places in which to live.
- Rethinking Utopia: A Town Primarily for People
Zellmer, Gene L.
Futurist; Jan/Feb2006, Vol. 40 #1, pp39-42
Visionary developer L. Gene Zellmer offers an inspirational perspective that moves us away from “urban planning” and toward “utopia building”.
- The Santa Fe-ing of Civilization
Garreau, Joel
Futurist; Jan/Feb2006, Vol. 40 #1, pp39-42
"Edge City" author Joel Garreau notes the importance of facilitating face-to-face contact in the habitats we are building
Fulltext articles
Volunteerism
E21 - Volunteering in the United States, 2005
U.S. Department of Labor, december 9th,2005, online edition
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that about 65.4 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2004 and September 2005. The proportion of the population who volunteered was 28.8 percent. These data were collected through a supplement to the September 2005 Current Population Survey (CPS). Fulltext
E22 - Youth Helping America. Building Active Citizens: The Role of Social Institutions in Teen Volunteering
Corporation for National and Community Service. November 2005, 24 p
"This national study, conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service in collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau and Independent Sector, found that 15.5 million teenagers volunteered during 2004, contributing more than 1.3 billion hours of service. That translates into a rate of 55 percent compared to the adult volunteer rate of 29 percent as established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics... According to the new survey, approximately 10.6 million youth – or 38 percent of the youth population -- have engaged in community service as part of a school activity. Of those, 65 percent have also participated in related activities typically associated with service-learning, such as planning the service project or writing about it in class. The survey found that only 5 percent of youth attributed their volunteer activities to a mandatory school requirement." Fulltext
WOMEN
E23 - Are Women Opting Out? Debunking the Myth
Boushey, Heather
Center for Economic and Policy Research, Briefing Paper, December 2005. 16p.
Recent "news stories may lead people to believe that there is a growing trend toward this sort of “opt out” by highly educated mothers. However, economic data provides no evidence to support these anecdotal accounts. In 2004, the latest year for which a full year of data is available, the impact of having children in the home on women’s labor force participation (the “child penalty”) fell compared to prior years." Heather Boushey is an Economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Fulltext
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