Research shows that films can be effective in engaging the interest of students in an appealing manner. States that, with the growth of video cassettes, feature films should become an economical and more widely employed teaching medium. Suggestions for using films in education are given and sociologically relevant films in 39 categories are…

Discusses implications of the contextualism of William McGuire for media-effects research and for the answers media-effects researchers give to questions of social concern. Argues that mass communication research long has contained latent contextualist orientations. (MS)

Alberta's University of Lethbridge is developing a degree program in human and community development to train native-education professionals and community-health workers to find solutions to problems in Indian communities that interfere with the attainment and use of education. (MSE)

Discusses the reasons for the rapid growth of the Korean economy and the social and political implications of this growth. Assesses recent student riots and middle class unrest and offers insights into the political future of the country. (GEA)

Clinical research shows that children have emotional investments in stepfamilies and are negatively affected by marital conflict, which can actually be greater than between couples without stepchildren. Stepchildren's perceptions of conflict heightens their need for affection. Views of parents and children about conflict do not necessarily…

The efficacy of desegregation is questioned. Examples from St. Louis show how desegregation prepares minorities for the underclass. The following proposals are made: (1) assess desegregation's impact; (2) abandon the city-county programs; (3) appoint masters for nonintegrated schools; (4) restructure the city district; and (5) establish a summer…

Discusses "perestroika" (restructuring), a process in the USSR aimed at speeding up social and economic development and negating undesirable aspects of Soviet society such as stagnation, dogmatism, and obstructiveness. States that the social sciences will play a leading role in ensuring that socialist society becomes an expression of all…

Issue management, or positioning and managing an organization to take advantage of bad situations and best-case scenarios, is a valuable approach for educators. This article describes a four-step development process for social issues and lists five reasons to practice issue management. The key is using early anticipation to advantage. (MLH)

Reviews "Decisions Decisions", a computer-based simulation for grades 5 through 12 which involves the whole class in making policy decisions on historical and current events with the use of only one computer. Topics of the seven separate simulations are: immigration, colonization, revolutionary wars, urbanization, foreign policy, the…

Surveyed 446 late adolescents concerning their assessment of specific social issues as problems existing in contemporary American society. Subjects overwhelmingly pointed to drug use, pollution, hunger, nuclear war, and poverty as serious to very serious problems, while ageism, and racial and sexual discrimination were regarded as substantially…

Explores ties between contemporary social issues and Supreme Court decisions during four periods. Considers Meyer v. Nebraska (1923), Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), Central School District v. Allen (1968), Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), Wallace v. Jaffree (1985), Aguilar v. Felton (1985), and other decisions. (DMM)

Presents information, statistical and anecdotal, on the disproportionate involvement of Black youth in crime. Describes the existence of a large, alienated underclass of Black youth, composed of drug pushers and users. Examines political, social, and familial causes of this problem and suggests some solutions. (KH)

To solve societal problems, both local and global, a global approach is needed. Serious diseases that are crippling present-day problem solving and planning are discussed, and the characteristics of a healthy, effective planning approach are described. (RM)

Proposes that the Black Studies curriculum move toward a greater emphasis on understanding how other countries and peoples have struggled for social justice. Suggests that a "general systems theory" would, among other advantages, produce greater cooperation between different minority groups and academic disciplines. (KH)

Highlights psychologists' roles and contributions to policy development in the areas of employment, deinstitutionalization, family violence, science and technology, and education. Focuses on psychologists' participation in creating policies that respond to the realities of women's changing social roles. (KH)