InfoAlert

July 2006

|Education |Immigration | Media | Multiculturalism/Multicultural Society | Religion & Values| Seniors | Social Conditions & Demographics |Universities & Colleges | Urban Society|Volunteerism |Youth Culture |

Education

E1 - Education Myths
Greene, Jay
The American Enterprise, Jul/Aug 2006, v17,#6; pp16-22
This essay identifies seven common myths that dominate established views of education. These myths relate to perceptions about relationship between spending and classroom results, teacher salaries and professional certification, the educational challenges caused by social problems, the advantages of small classes, the advantages of private schools, and ineffective school voucher programs. Jay Greene is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of Education Myths, from which this essay is adapted. Fulltext

E2 - Real Success with a Virtual Exchange: The German and American Politics Electronic Classroom
Olsen, Jonathan; Zimmer, Annette; Behr, Markus
PS, Political Science & Politics, Apr 2006, v39, #2, pp.351-356
The authors describe how a web-based class can function as a "virtual" exchange program. In 2002, an online course, "German and American Politics in Comparative Perspective," linked students in a political science seminar class taught at the Westfalische Wilhelms-Universität Miinster to a political science seminar class taught at UW-Parkside. The class furthered one of the main goals of a traditional study abroad experience -- the deepening of cross-cultural knowledge and skills -- without providing a "real" study abroad experience. The class helped to stimulate greater interest among students in studying in either short-term study abroad programs or traditional semester- or year-abroad programs. Jonathan Olsen is associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Annette Zimmer is professor of political science at the Institut für Politikwissenschaft at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität-Münster. Markus Behr is a graduate assistant at the Institut für Politikwissenschaft at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität-Münster. Fulltext

Immigration

E3 - Family Obligation Among Children in Immigrant Families
Euligni, Andrew
Migration Information Source, July 1, 2006, online edition
“One of the top reasons immigrants give for coming to the United States is a desire to provide better educational and economic opportunities to their families and children. Immigrants voice this sentiment regardless of their educational level, financial standing, or country of origin. Numerous ethnographic studies demonstrate that the children in immigrant families are well aware of their parents' motivations for coming to the United States.” This article explains the impact of family obligations as a motivating force on adaptation and adjustment in the United States. “Both first- and second-generation children's sense of obligation provides meaning in their lives as they attend school and adjust to American society.” Andrew Fuligni is affiliated with the University of California in Los Angeles. Fulltext

E4 - What to Do on Immigration
Jacoby, Tamar; Camarota, Steven
Council on Foreign Relations, updated June 23, 2006, online edition How does the need for immigrant labor in America affect the policy debate relating to the growing number of illegal immigrants in America? “The presence of some twelve million illegal immigrants is testament to the United States' constant demand for labor, as well as the ineffectiveness of policies for regulating the flow of people across U.S. borders. Legislators have considered a raft of proposals—from a House bill that stressed building barriers and tightening border security to the Senate bill, which offered a guest-worker program and a path to legalization—as they wrestle with this complex and contentious topic in an election year. A June 20 decision by House Republicans to hold hearings across the country before taking on the difficult task of reconciling the House and Senate bills has postponed action on the issue until the fall, and potentially doomed the chances of any meaningful reform passing this year.” Tamar Jacoby is senior fellow and immigration expert at the Manhattan Institute, and Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigraiton Studies. Fulltext

E5 - Symposium: Immigration and National Identity
Perspectives on Politics, June 2006, v4, #2, pp277-313
At this symposium, scholars “representing a variety of intellectual traditions offer their views on the notion of national identity, the role of culture and the necessity of cultural unity in maintaining that identity, and the challenge that the global movement of people and peoples has raised to those identities. More specifically, in light of large scale Latin American immigration, the symposium devotes considerable effort to investigating the empirical claims regarding Latino immigration and assimilation often made by those who perceive threat.” The symposium offered a reasoned and scholarly consideration of how American national identity might evolve, and how political scientists might come to understand that evolution:
- Culture Clash? Contesting Notions of American Identity
Luis R. Fraga and Gary M. Segura; pp279-287
-Mexican Americans and the American Dream
Richard Alba, pp289-296
-Cuban Émigrés and the American Dream
Susan Eckstein; pp. 297-307
- Mexican Immigrant Political and Economic Incorporation
Frank D. Bean, Susan K. Brown, and Rubén G. Rumbaut; pp. 309-313
Order Articles

Media

E6 - Handbook for Independent Journalism
U.S. State Department, International Information Programs (IIP) Posted July 2006
"This handbook offers a brief introduction to the fundamentals of journalism as it is practiced in democratic systems — a journalism that attempts to base itself on fact and not opinion. Opinions have their place, but in the best-edited newspapers they are confined to the editorial pages and op-ed (guest writer) columns." The author, Deborah Potter, is executive director of NewsLab (www.newslab.org ), an online resource center for journalists in Washington, D.C., that she founded in 1998. She has taught journalism as a faculty member at The Poynter Institute and at American University, and is a past executive director of the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation. Fulltext

E7 - The End of Ambiguity
McCollam, Douglas
Columbia Journalism Review, Jul/Aug2006, v45, # 2, pp20-27
The battle between the Bush administration and The New York Times over publication of secrets related to the war on terror point to a basic tension at the heart of our constitutional system. That tension has been held in check through the years by a series of fuzzy compromises between government and press. But those compromises are eroding. The author analyzes this worrisome trend. Douglas McCollam, a contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review, is based in Washington. Fulltext

E8 - Shakedown!
Love, Robert
Columbia Journalism Review, Jul/Aug2006, v45, # 2, pp21-27
In the wake of the Page Six scandal at the New York Post, the author looks back at the sordid history of journalism's blackmailers. “If it’s true that all politics is local, as Tip O’Neill famously said, then I say that all journalism is personal — at least in this fundamental way: The power of the press is shared by every journalist and editor. In the end it’s only a reporter’s sense of personal responsibility that keeps him or her from trading that power for personal gain. Isn’t that the recent lesson of Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass, who showed how enterprising fabricators can fool diligent editors for years?” Robert Love is an adjunct professor at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Fulltext

E9 - Freeedom of Speech and the Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment
Cohen, Henry
Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service. Updated June 2, 2006, 42p
“This report provides an overview of the major exceptions to the First Amendment… For example, the Court has decided that the First Amendment provides no protection to obscenity, child pornography, or speech that constitutes "advocacy of the use of force or of law violation ... where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action." The Court has also decided that the First Amendment provides less than full protection to commercial speech, defamation (libel and slander), speech that may be harmful to children, speech broadcast on radio and television, and public employees' speech. Even speech that enjoys the most extensive First Amendment protection may be subject to "regulations of the time, place, and manner of expression which are content-neutral, are narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest, and leave open ample alternative channels of communication." And even speech that enjoys the most extensive First Amendment protection may be restricted on the basis of its content if the restriction passes "strict scrutiny," i.e., if the government shows that the restriction serves "to promote a compelling interest" and is "the least restrictive means to further the articulated interest." Henry Cohen is a legislative attorney for the Congressional Research Service, American Law Division. Fulltext

E10 - Access to Broadband Networks
Goldfarb, Charles B.
Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service. Updated June 29, 2006,30p
Debate has begun about what statutory and regulatory framework is most likely to foster innovation and investment both in physical broadband networks and in the applications that ride over those networks. Perhaps the most contentious element in that debate is whether competitive marketplace forces are sufficient to constrain the broadband network providers from restricting independent applications providers’ access to their networks in a fashion that would harm consumers and innovation. Charles B. Goldfarb is a specialist in Industrial Organization and Telecommunications Policy at the Resources, Science, and Industry Division. Fulltext

E11 - Digital Television: An Overview
Kruger, Lennard G.
Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service. Updated May 5, 2006, 46p
Digital television (DTV) is a new television service representing the most significant development in television technology since the advent of color television in the 1950s. DTV can provide sharper pictures, a wider screen, CD-quality sound, better color rendition, and other new services currently being developed. The nationwide deployment of digital television is a complex and multifaceted enterprise. A key issue in the Congressional debate over the digital transition has been addressing the millions of American over-the-air households whose existing analog televisions will require converter boxes in order to receive digital signals when the analog signal is turned off. Lennard G. Kruger is a specialist in Science and Technology at the Resources, Science, and Industry Division. Fulltext

Multiculturalism/Multicultural society

E12 - 2006 National Survey of Latinos. The Immigration Debate
Suro, Roberto; Escobar, Gabriel
Pew Hispanic Center, July 13, 2006, 32p.
”The first major survey of Latinos in the wake of the pro-immigration marches and the debate in Congress reveals how the battle over immigration reform has affected Hispanic public opinion. More than half of Latinos believe the debate has increased discrimination. Almost two-thirds think the pro-immigrant marches signal the beginning of a new and lasting social movement. And in marked contrast to prior surveys, a majority now believes Hispanics are working together to achieve common goals.” Roberto Suro and Gabriel Escobar are affiliated with the Pew Hispanic Center. Fulltext

Religion & VALUES

E13 - What Would the Founders Do Today?
Brookhiser, Richard
American Heritage, Jul2006, v57 #3, pp31-38
It has been mentioned that the founders knew they were making history. In this essay the people who invented the nation offer advice on how to keep it going. What Franklin, Jefferson, and their colleagues would think about gun control, the war on drugs, the war on terror, and intelligent design is to be found in this article. This article is drawn from Richard Brookhiser's most recent work “What Would the Founders Do? Our Questions, Their Answers”. Fulltext

Seniors

The Grand Generation: Folklore and the Culture of Aging
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett , Barbara;   Hufford , Mary;   Hunt ,  Marjorie ; Zeitlin , Steve
Generations, Spring 2006, v 30, #1, pp.32-38
"The field of folklore has been built from the memories of older people. Folklorists have long collaborated with the "grand generation" to fix in writing -- and more recently on tape and film -- traditions that otherwise would have been forgotten with the passing of their bearers… As folklorists shifted their attention from cultural relics of the past to the process of creating tradition, they came to realize that older people are more than custodians of heritage. They are active in the present and experts on what the later period in the life cycle is all about. To focus on elders in the present is to discover their creative cultural responses to advancing years, with all of the challenges age brings, and to rethink our basic assumptions about the nature of memory, tradition, and old age." Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Ph.D., is professor of performance studies and Hebrew and Judaic studies, New York University; Mary Hufford, Ph.D., is director, Center for Folklore and Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Marjoric Hunt, Ph.D., is the folklorist and education specialist, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and Steve Zeitlin is executive director, CityLore, New York, N.Y. Fulltext

Social Conditions & Demographics

E15 - An Economic Assessment of Same-Sex Marriages Laws Allen, Douglas W.
Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Summer 2006, v29, #3, p 949, 32p
"An enormous debate continues over the issue of same-sex marriage, even in countries where the basic premise has been accepted, like Canada, where the government passed formal legislation changing the legal definition of marriage in the summer of 2005. Within this context, the pressure to change laws in the United States, where more than thirty states have passed some type of Defense of Marriage Act, including in some cases constitutional amendments that prohibit same-sex marriage, will only increase.” Douglas W. Allen, Simon Fraser University. Fulltext

Universities & Colleges

E16 - Teaching Awards: What Do They Award?
Chism, Nancy Van Note
Journal of Higher Education, Jul/Aug 2006, v77, #4, pp589-617
"The article examines selection criteria for teaching awards at various colleges and universities. The study finds that most teaching awards committees use qualitative measures and personal testimonies to evaluate teaching. The criteria for a good teacher is seldom explicitly stated. Materials used in the classroom and examples of student work are seldom used. The article argues that teaching awards can be best used as merely a part of the teaching evaluation system. Working with a concrete list of teaching criteria would make awards valuable tools rather than popularity contests. Revising teaching awards to adhere to a universal set of criteria, relating evidence to criteria, and defining standards would make the awards more valuable and spark conversation within the institution." Nancy Van Note Chims is Associate Dean of the Faculties at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianpolis. Fulltext

E17 - Playing the Board Game: An Empirical Analysis of University Trustee and Corporate Board Interlocks.
Pusser, Brian; Slaughter, Sheila; Thomas, Scott
Journal of Higher Education, Sep/Oct 2006, v77, #5, pp747-775
"The article presents research concerning public and private university boards of trustees and networks between corporations and universities. While research has been conducted on university presidents, there has not been much work done on boards of trustees. The study is an empirical study of ten public and ten private institutions that were top spenders of U.S. federal government research and development funds during 2000, according to the National Science Foundation. The study indicates that the private universities had more corporate links in common than did the public universities. The authors speculate that corporate links to public universities are more regional in nature, whereas the private universities have far-reaching corporate links." Brian Pusser is Assistant Professor at the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, Sheila Slaughter is Louise Mc Bee Professor of Higher Education at the Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia, and Scott Thomas works at the Department of Sociology, University of Georgia. Fulltext

Urban Society

E18 - Downtown Renaissance: Are Center Cities Finally Returning to Health?
Greenblatt, Alan
CQ Researcher , June 23, 2006 , v16, # 24, pp.553-576
“After World War II, suburban job and population growth in the United States far outstripped that of cities, leading many to worry that downtowns were doomed. In recent years, however, many cities have revived their fortunes by fashioning downtowns that are attractive and — for the first time in decades — drawing in new residents. Once-forlorn urban centers from San Diego to Philadelphia are now busy construction zones that are filling up with trendy shops and restaurants. But despite the good news, downtowns are still grabbing only a tiny fraction of metropolitan growth. Some skeptics worry that the downtown renaissance is fragile, largely built on upscale shopping and entertainment — relatively new trends that could easily change. But others believe downtowns, having once again become the most vital parts of many cities, will provide a model for future development — even in the suburbs.” Alan Greenblatt is a staff writer at Governing Magazine. Order Article

Volunteerism

E19 - National Service: Should Community Service be Required?
Greenya, John
CQ Researcher, June 30, 2006, v16, #25, pp.577-600
"More than 65 million Americans now volunteer for charitable and service organizations, and President Bush wants to push the total to 75 million by 2010. But the president appears to have lost some of his enthusiasm for volunteerism. In his 2002 State of the Union address, Bush called on more Americans to volunteer to help their neighbors. But now the administration wants drastic cuts in AmeriCorps, the domestic Peace Corps-type program created by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Experts say the issue could move into the spotlight in coming years if Bush's support wanes, and candidates for public office pick up the banner of national service. Supporters argue that requiring national service will foster national unity and inspire more volunteerism from Americans young and old. Critics counter, however, that making service compulsory negates the whole purpose of volunteering — giving one's time willingly to help others." John Greenya is a freelance writer in Washington DC who has written for the Washington Post, New Republic, New York Times and other publications. Order Article

Youth Culture

E20 - Graffiti in Its Own Words
Ehrlich, Dimitri, Ehrlich, Gregor
New York, July 3 -10, 2006, v39, #24, pp.48-56
“Graffiti today is such an accepted part of youth culture that it's hard to imagine what New Yorkers experienced in the early seventies, as they watched their city become steadily tattooed with hieroglyphics. Some saw it as vandalism and a symbol of urban decay. But for the writers who risked life, limb, and arrest, and the teenagers, filmmakers, and, eventually, curators who admired them, graffiti was an art form.” In this article, the authors tell the story of the people who invented graffiti, and those who watched them do it. Names of writers are rendered in the style in which they appeared on the city's walls and subways. Fulltext

E21 - Hollywood Elementary
Le Blanc, Adrian Nicole
New York Times Magazine, June 4, 2006, pp42-54
Each year hundreds of teenagers and child actors as young as five flock to Los Angeles to enroll in the Oakwood Toluca Hills' Child Actor Program in the hope of becoming stars. In this article several child actors and their families are profiled and the culture that makes a place such as Oakwood possible is explored. Adrian Nicole LeBlanc is the author of “Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of age in the Bronx”. Fulltext