Discusses the typical response to incidents of hatred and prejudice on campuses, which is often seen as reactive and brief. Advocates the creation of a critical incident team (CIT) on campuses, created for the purpose of dealing with incidents of hatred. (GCP)

Discusses privacy issues related to use of the Internet. Topics include data gathering functions that are built into applications of the World Wide Web; cookies that identify Web site visitors; personal identity information; libraries and privacy, including the need for privacy policies; protecting your privacy; and developing privacy literacy.…

Family and consumer sciences professionals can encourage citizen participation in local, state, and national government. The public deliberation model developed by the Kettering Foundation's National Issues Forum is designed to engage citizens in the deliberation process. (JOW)

Sweeping changes to the Medicare program embodied in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), including a new prescription drug benefit, changes in payment policies, and reform of the Medicare managed-care program, have major implications for rural health care. The most efficient mechanism for research to…

Development of education policy in Central and Eastern Europe is a specific type of educational transformations. Though almost all the countries in the region began their reforms from a similar starting point--the Soviet-type education system--eventually they moved towards different educational models. As a result of the full EU membership of the…

After years of non-stop increases--national k-12 per-pupil spending is up by "one-third" in inflation-adjusted dollars since 1995--schools now face the near-certainty of repeated annual budget cuts for the first time since the Great Depression. In some states and districts, reductions will be dramatic--well into the double digits. And…

This report, "State Tuition, Fees, and Financial Assistance Policies for Public Colleges and Universities: 2010-11", examines the philosophies, policies, and procedures that influence decision-making regarding public college and university tuition, student fees, and student financial aid programs. This report also provides information…

Online learning and our current system of local education governance are at odds with one another, to say the least. In this paper, John Chubb examines how local school district control retards the widespread use of instructional technologies. He argues that the surest way to break down the system's inherent resistance to technology is to shift…

This report lists RTI International's efforts to improve education around the world by strengthening education system management. Projects are organized based on the following themes: (1) Conducting research to inform the education policy process; (2) Promoting education reform and policy support; (3) Facilitating and enabling participation; (4)…

As think tanks have become more numerous, visible, and seemingly influential, scholars have begun to pay more attention to them--analyzing their characteristics, their modes of operation, and their roles in policymaking. This "Policy Insight" builds on this work and examines the role of think tanks in civil society, with an emphasis on…

Universities, colleges, hospitals and other institutions throughout the United States are starting to think seriously about the impact of purchasing on the environment, human health, labor, animal welfare and other concerns. It is increasingly clear that, as mission-driven organizations committed to the public good, these institutions can be…

In this paper, the author reflects on some of the complexities involved in theorizing change and the policy process, stimulated by the framing offered by the Learning and Skills Sector (LSS) project and the detailed case studies it presents. Focusing on a period in the development of the LSS that has been characterized by a determined policy…

This article explores how the European Union coordinates education policy making through the use of a mode of governance called the open method of coordination (OMC). Part One briefly presents and discusses the mechanisms of the education OMC and its key characteristics. Part Two draws on contemporary theories of Europeanisation and discourse…

We present a case study of working with a group of students as researchers and policy makers in their school. We argue that there is much to learn about the location of gender and class within processes of inclusion and exclusion, specifically how student voice can reveal their experiences in ways that adults may not be able to or wish to. We…

This article examines states' decisions to commit to human rights treaties. It argues that the effect of a treaty on a state--and hence the state's willingness to commit to it--is largely determined by the domestic enforcement of the treaty and the treaty's collateral consequences. These broad claims give rise to several specific predictions. For…