As this paper demonstrates, studying abortive educational reforms reveals a great deal about the complex political dynamics involved in making (and unmaking) key policy decisions. Using case studies of France and West Germany, the paper argues that the state in advanced industrial countries tends to maximize the political gains derived from…

This paper defines indicators related to the dramatization of television and formulates a methodology for analyzing the discourse of the television news based on empirical studies. This methodology is used to isolate some indicators of dramatization as it relates to the structure and form of the message. The changes that have affected the text of…

Appropriate for adult reading, 27 books published between 1969 and 1982 are listed in this annotated bibliography for those studying the Iranian Revolution. Works are arranged into two categories: (1) "Background Materials: Islam and Petroleum," which lists basic works that make it easier to place events in Iran within an intelligible…

In 1972, M. McCombs and D. Shaw introduced the idea that the mass media have the ability to tell the public which issues are of major importance in a political campaign by virtue of the amount of coverage they give each. This they termed the "agenda setting" function of the media. A study was conducted to investigate various aspects of…

A number of issues must be considered if those in the profession are to construct a theoretically and pedagogically sound definition of literacy as a word and a concept. The profession agrees that literacy is the encoding and decoding of meaning, but there is little agreement on the term "meaning." Sociolinguists define literacy as a cluster of…

In recent years, television spot advertising has become an important part of political campaigns because it allows candidates to select the most favorable content, medium, time, and audience available to them. In the 1984 United States Senate campaign in Michigan, both the incumbent, Democrat Carl Levin, and the challenger, Republican Jack Lousma,…

This paper provides commentary on some of the issues and projects considered in other papers presented at the conference, focusing in particular on some of the nontechnological issues associated with the design, development, and implementation of telecomputing and networking in education. Four types of telecomputing projects are considered:…

The popular image of the "Education Governor" was investigated, with attention to: (1) the extent to which the specific education measures proposed in inaugural and state of the state addresses of 20 "Education Governors" of the 1960s through 1980s corresponded with the subsequent actions of these officials; and (2) the…

The employment of over half the women in the United States with children under age 6 creates a need for quality day care that the General Services Administration (GSA) has tried to meet by encouraging the establishment of child care centers in federal buildings. Although free or reduced rent has been available, only ten such centers currently…

The increasing number of women today becoming involved in political activities and holding elective office is evidence of the changes in women's roles in politics which began in the 1960s. Role change began with increased political activity in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. In the late 1960s and early 1970s feminist organizations were formed to…

German women have achieved much of which their mothers only dreamed; however, there is still plenty of work to be done in the fight to secure equal rights. Women are becoming more involved in politics. For example, today 8.6% of parliament is female compared to 7.1% in 1949. German women are not drafted for military service, but they can now…

Stressing the trend towards increasing concentration of the black population in urban ghettos, the author discusses the policies of "benign neglect" and "law and order" and advocates the development in Afro-Americans of maximum unity and social cohesion rooted in a consciousness of common purpose. (Author/JM)

The design, implementation, and eventual failure of a system-wide, long-term comprehensive reform of the Washington, D.C. elementary and junior high schools to improve academic achievement among black students is explored in depth. The struggle for control over policy making and the opposition of teachers' unions and community groups were key…

A review of developments on both a national and state-by-state basis pertaining to: women and poverty, research on women, paid housewifery, politics, personalities, biased textbooks, bias in tests, new health policies, women Rhodes scholars, sexism in colleges, etc. (JM)

Decisions by educational policymakers are increasingly influenced by changing enrollment patterns, the "financial squeeze" on education, and some disenchantment on the part of some citizens with the accomplishments of education. (Author)