American democracy is at an inflection point. Will we stride toward the 22nd century with evidence and will? Or will we lurch fearfully backwards, reinscribing the white supremist domination of the 19th century? After hundreds of urban protests in the 1960s, the presidential Kerner Commission, composed mainly of privileged white men, concluded,…

Citizenship is about more than the passport an individual holds; it goes far beyond nationality. The terms of citizenship determine in part who has access to goods, services, and resources and how they are distributed within a community. Rules of citizenship determine who can participate, who can decide about matters of diversity, distribution,…

Books in the Opposing Viewpoints series challenge readers to question their own opinions and assumptions. By reading carefully balanced views, readers confront new ideas on the topic of interest. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited job discrimination based on age, race, religion, gender, or national origin, provided the groundwork for…

A subcommittee of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) was charged with the task of developing a national agenda for America's cities and regions. This report consists of the working paper developed by the co-chairs of the subcommittee and the position papers committee members produced. It is intended to be a starting point for…

Books in the Opposing Viewpoints Series present debates about current issues that can be used to teach critical reading and thinking skills. The variety of opinions expressed in this collection of articles and book excerpts explore many aspects of illegal immigration. Contrary depictions of the aspirations and attitudes of illegal immigrants fuel…

Five essays analyze human needs and values in relation to population and economic growth. The first, "The Trouble With Growth," discusses current problems: the benefits of growth are unfairly distributed; growth can damage the environment and waste resources; unproductive and dysfunctional growth is not distinguished from productive and socially…

This collection documents how far we still are in the United States from putting our knowledge about child well being and policy into practice. It provides an overview of the changing nature of child poverty in the United States through the contributions of authors who use a number of qualitative and quantitative approaches to look at children in…

The 12 chapters of this volume offer a comprehensive portrait of today's children and their challenging urban environments. The opportunities and obstacles that confront children are examined in detail, and key social problems are discussed in the following contributions: (1) "Growing Up in the Urban Environment: Opportunities and Obstacles for…

The fundamental theme of these papers is what constitutes the common good and the issues and problems related to the understanding of that common good. Several anthropologists and a political scientist explore this theme in various geographic settings and from many theoretical and methodological perspectives. Among the countries and cultures…

The articles in this reader provide a review of the history of education policy in relation to issues of equality and inequality. They also offer an overview and critique of specific areas of policy and a look at the ways policies operate in practice. The eight papers of Part 1, "History of Education Policy," outline the history of…

The six articles of this special issue focus on minority issues in program evaluation. The aim is to begin a discussion of minority concerns about the impact of cultural dominance on definitions of social goals, the measurement of outcomes, and the political consequences of the selection of evaluation methods. (SLD)

This book contains 13 chapters analyzing important practical issues that must be addressed as Aboriginal self-government becomes fully operational in Canada. These issues are related to social problems and policies, criminal justice, community services, education, employment and job training, finance, the land base of government, women's rights…

This compilation of 10 reports reviews the socioeconomic status of African Americans in the United States in 1989. The following topics are discussed: (1) the National Urban League's "Parity 2000" initiative, designed to secure parity between blacks and whites by the end of the century; (2) economic status; (3) family problems; (4)…

The joint product of 18 contributors, this book evaluates the potential of the private sector for delivering a wide range of human services to alleviate social problems. It also assesses the effect of governmental programs and policies on nongovernmental organizations. Part 1 of the book presents a conceptual framework for making government…

The National Association for Gifted Children series "Essential Readings in Gifted Education," edited by Sally M. Reis, is a comprehensive collection of the leading research, theories, and findings that span more than 25 years. Each volume tackles the major issues, chronicles chief trends, and imparts effective models and solutions for gifted…