The Politics and Mass Media section of the proceedings contains the following eight papers: "Politics and the War on Drugs: Patterns of News Coverage" (Lisa Brockmeier); "The Challenge of Bearing Witness in Political Reporting: Making the Public Conversational Partners" (Karon Reinboth Speckman); "The Concrete-Avoidance…

The change of the political system in Hungary stimulates a great deal of discussion about the consequent modification of the educational system. Almost every aspect of schooling is to be changed: the content of teaching, the basic structure of public education, the decision-making system, the dependency relationships, etc. Within this context we…

This booklet about the cultural background of Laos is one of three booklets that serve as a foundation for understanding the cultural diversity and values of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese students. Laos is a country of great cultural and ethnic diversity. The following political and economic factors have influenced the development of modern…

Five college writing teachers who consider themselves critically and politically progressive were interviewed to see how much their political views influenced what they did in their composition classes. The comments of the teachers suggest that although they are very sensitive to the students' needs and go out of their way to accept diverse views…

One of a series of units introducing secondary school students to business issues, this packet focuses on the television industry and its social and political influence. A teacher's guide and student materials are provided in two separate sections. Following an overview of objectives and activities, the teacher's guide outlines five daily lessons.…

The political processes involved in an academic program evaluation are discussed. The focus is on how evaluative information is politically linked to programmatic decisions within the context of various organizational and evaluative utilization models. To examine the explanatory power of the various theories and models, information from a program…

Discusses three essential differences between playing the planning game at the national and at the local level. These involve financial constraints, a concern for manpower development, and the distance between the planner and the public. (Author/WM)

In 1988-89, a one-year course in world history/cultures was added to the list of courses required for graduation in the state of New Jersey, becoming the third required course in social studies. The course is intended to provide students with historical knowledge to better meet the demands of the world and to make the informed decisions that are…

Research results show a skepticism among Polish youth concerning the possibility of implementing the accepted socialist values in political practice and denote a steady erosion of socialism's image. Youth organizations are many and varied, but it appears that most join because of the opportunity to meet friends, not because of political…

A framework for discussing the issues associated with language policy in the United States is offered, highlighting the history of the country's diverse language groups and language policies. It is proposed that language politics, and often the policies themselves, reflect the social relations between groups within a society. The history of…

Scholars and political commentators have noted a new movement toward direct citizen participation in the candidate nomination process, and some individuals have seen this as a decline of the political parties. This paper examines two concepts: (1) the origins of the argument about participation and strong political parties and (2) the effects of…

Reunification of Germany, democratic changes in Eastern European countries, and new government policies of the Soviet Union will lead to the reduction of U.S. troops in West Germany. As a Department of Defense contractor providing associate degrees to soldiers in Europe, Central Texas College (CTC) will be severely affected by the troop…

This paper argues that gender/women's studies are becoming an essential element of research and curricula in a number of disciplines. Several scholars of gender who conduct research in various disciplines are mentioned, and their areas of work are briefly outlined: Kate Millett, Shulamith Firestone, Simone de Beauvoir, Anne Oakley, Nancy Chodorow,…

Investigations into the Brazilian education system indicate the system's inadequacies in democratizing education. Instead, education is accessible to those who can afford it and not to those who most need it. Although research evidence consistently shows the positive relationship between socioeconomic characteristics and school access and…

The question of what a national language is good for has been asked and answered many times, and the validity of each answer depends on historical circumstances. Many assume that there is a direct relationship between language and nation. Leibniz argued in 1683, at a time when bilingualism was socially stratifying, that nation and language…