This study focused on the development of policy thought, or abstract thinking about policy issues. Political thought may be described as concrete thinking about political phenomena. It includes one's knowledge of and attitude toward objects, people, and events in the political sphere. Policy thought entails the abstract manner in which one…

After a discussion of the circumstances that led to the unification of the two German states, this paper then evaluates the challenges to political education in Germany after unification. Beginning with the focus by the media and politics on the effects of East German political changes on the two German states, the revolution in East Germany and…

This document examines the definition of democracy and the political attitudes and values of the West German public and implications of these attitudes for future German politics and German-U.S. relations. The stability of postwar democracy in West Germany, it is agreed, is related to changes in the characteristics of the political culture over…

A study examined the differences between how men and women respond to expert political analysis of political debates and the extremeness of traits attributed to the candidates. Subjects, 30 males and 45 females enrolled in courses at the College of Journalism and Communication of the University of Florida in the fall of 1988, viewed the live…

An analysis of the content and a critique of the significance of President Jimmy Carter's 1977 commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame, show that technical weaknesses such as poor organization, inconsistent style, and overbreadth limited its intended effect. Carter had hoped that this speech would dispel confusion over some of his…

Two factors during the 1988 presidential campaign were largely responsible for the erosion of "women's issues" and the so-called "gender gap"--the perception that a candidate is unattractive to women voters. This perception is thought to be based upon the candidate's stand on issues such as abortion, day care and the Equal…

A study examined the source of important voter perceptions during the 1984 presidential election and their impact on the choice between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale--specifically perceptions involving the effects of either a Reagan or a Mondale victory on the American economy. The origins of these economic perceptions were sought in…

This book is a comparative analysis of the tensions, compromises and conflicts over school reform in four urban school systems in the United States. In examining the contradictory forces that shaped urban education in the U.S., it illuminates how grassroots movements operated during the early twentieth century. Unlike many of the standard…

Results of the 1985 Cooperative Institutional Research Program survey of entering college freshmen are presented. Of the 279,985 responses, 192,435 questionnaires from 365 two- and four-year institutions were used to compute the 1985 national norms. Findings indicate that the proportion of new freshmen planning to major in computer science and…

The Brown decision of 1954 occurred when Blacks, who were migrating into the North in large numbers, became a highly visible political minority. Widespread interest in school integration on the part of the dominant majority stemmed more from a concern about societal integration than about the welfare of disadvantaged children. The Brown decision…

Comparing the Nigerian press during the colonial period of British rule and the post-independence period, a case study examined two press laws: the Newspaper Ordinance No. 10 of 1903, and Decree No. 4 of 1984 (Public Officers Protection against False Accusation Decree). Using qualitative research methodology, the study investigated how the…

This paper briefly discusses television reform in five Latin American countries where media reform occurred at roughly the same time, i.e., Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Mexico, and Brazil. The development of television in Colombia, where no reform occurred, is compared with television development in the other countries. The main causes that gave rise…

An integrated historical account of the Puerto Rican experience in higher education is presented by the Higher Education Task Force of the Centro de Estudios Puertorriquenos of Hunter College, City University of New York. The present situation of Puerto Ricans in higher education on the Island and in the United States reflects the plight Puerto…

Since the onset of the nuclear age in 1945, the world has lived with the constant threat of nuclear war and its devastating consequences for all of humanity. While such a threat has led some to "psychic numbing" it has led others to action. Research on how children were being affected by the threat of nuclear war began in the early 1960s. This…

This study identifies the attitudes of college students toward a variety of persons, each of whom deviated from the normal in one specific way--either in terms of social status, physical condition, or political point of view. A questionnaire was devised, employing the Bogardus Social Distance Scale. Respondents included 184 undergraduates and 51…