Although it is impossible to know in advance the credibility of political messages, such persuasive discourse can be analyzed in a non-partisan, common sense way using predictable patterns in content and form. The content of a candidate's message can be summarized as "I am competent and trustworthy; from me, you'll get 'more good' and 'less…

Thomas Jefferson's elevation of the small landowning farmer to the guardian and bastion of democracy became the centerpiece for a later generation's struggle. Jeffersonian democracy, a philosophy based on the belief that "those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God" guided the rural insurgents that swept Minnesota and North…

Because of the historical influence of religion in the national life and personal lives of many American citizens and the interplay between religious and national affairs in public discourse, it is useful to study the secular media for its portrayal of religion as news or as value system. A study describes the nature of commentary on religion by…

By reviewing personal correspondence, biographies, newspaper coverage of the 1940s, and interviews, this survey examines Wendell Willkie's relations with the press in general and with publishers John Cowles and Gardner (Mike) Cowles in particular. Divided into four parts, the survey begins with a review of the correspondence between Willkie and…

The "new" anti-racists of the 1980s in contemporary Britain consider racism, particularly against blacks, as both a structural and a white problem. Anti-racist activists, whose attitude is a mirror-image of the political left's general concern about the media--where blacks are in the minority--regard the media, especially television, as…

Relying on the social constructionist approach as advanced by Armand L. Mauss (1975), this paper analyzes the construction of a recent U.S. social problem, drug abuse. It is argued that the objective conditions of drug use alone cannot explain why drugs became an issue immediately prior to the 1986 Congressional elections. Explanations for the…

This booklet, one of 16 designed for use in an Open Universtiy course on the education of handicapped students in the United Kingdom, deals with the formation and implementation of relevant legislation and policy. The legislative foundations of the special education system in England and Wales, namely the Education Act 1944 and the Education…

An analysis of the consequences of state administrative and legislative decisions on levels of appropriations for bilingual education in Illinois is presented. The report first describes existing legislation for bilingual education funding in the state, including legislation specifically for transitional bilingual education and other transitional…

Americans tend to value bigger as better. Conventional wisdom over the years has dictated that "too small" schools and school districts could not provide sufficient educational opportunities. Since 1930, the number of school districts has shrunk from 128,000 to less than 16,000. As districts consolidate, parents feel distant from schools and…

This document includes five reports originally presented at two meetings of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) held respecively in 1985 and 1987. In "Public Policy on LIbraries," Hector Wynter, a member of the Jamaican Parliament, describes the role of the legislator in the development of libraries in Jamaica.…

Although for the 15 years preceding his election as President of the United States Ronald Reagan muted his anti-Soviet rhetoric in order to achieve political power, since his election he has returned to anti-Sovietism in an effort to redirect American foreign policy against the Soviets. At the same time, however, he employs a rhetorical strategy…

The experiences of Puerto Rican migrants in New York City and elsewhere are unique when compared to those of other minority groups. The Puerto Ricans, in general, are disinclined to assimilate into the dominant American culture, and this phenomenon is closely connected to Puerto Rico's political and economic relationship to the United States.…

Perceptions of college institutional research directors concerning the quality of executive decision making at their institutions were studied. Perceptions were assessed using a theoretical model of Groupthink developed by Janis, who postulates that a high amount of environmental stress should lead to a greater degree of…

Examines patterns of political negotiation as evidenced in the public school system in Providence, using Dahl and Wolfinger's analysis of the role of ethnicity in politics in New Haven as a model for assessing political-ethnic influence in the employment hierarchy of the school system. (Author/JM)

The article considers some of the unique social, linguistic, economic, political, and organizational factors that affect American Indian education. (KM)