This article examines the obesity, health, and physical activity discourses of the past 35 years in the context of the United States with particular reference to five social sectors: the biomedical domain; the popular media; nonprofit foundations, centers and agencies; various national and multinational corporations; and government at all levels.…

In this article, the author reflects on the events that took place in the year 1972. The author was a junior at the University of New Mexico back then, refusing to eat or buy grapes and lettuce, picketing grocers who did not carry United Farm Workers of America produce. He and his buddies cast their votes against granting Richard Nixon a second…

The internet continues to provide new and interesting solutions to age-old problems; this paper explores how education could benefit from online solutions. The history of public education in the U.S. is fractured at best, based on a system reliant on state and local control. As new legislation came into place to meet the needs of civil rights…

Outlook is the monthly newsletter for the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). Each issue contains information relating to private education such as: new legislation and regulations, the most recent research, court rulings, national trends, federal initiatives, private school news briefs, and more. This issue contains the following…

During the first half of the 19th century, the United States grew from a nation confined to the Atlantic seaboard to a country on the verge of becoming a global power. One factor prompting this growth was the United States' growing intellectual, economic, and strategic interests in the Pacific Ocean. These growing interests were fueled by the…

In this paper, the author explains the basic functions and processes of the federal government. She suggests that the media saturation that normally surrounds a presidential election year makes for a wonderful teaching opportunity. Critical baseline data to help students understand the United States Government is provided.

In the midst of the global recession, how have national governments viewed the role of higher education in their evolving strategies for economic recovery? Demand for higher education generally goes up during economic downturns. Which nations have proactively protected funding for their universities and colleges to help maintain access, to help…

This paper contributes to the debate over how the federal government can best help state and local authorities improve student achievement by providing examples from other countries of innovations in the role of the national government. The authors believe that the degree to which foreign policy structures parallel those of the United States are…

Whether to adopt national standards and tests has long been a subject of lively debate in the United States. With 47 states now participating in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and a commitment from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to allocate hundreds of millions in stimulus funds to the development of common tests, the country is…

This article explores the use of ironic performance in education, particularly around issues of human rights. I examine my own efforts to engage audiences with the history of domestic espionage and sabotage by the intelligence agencies of the United States. This is a history well known to some marginalized counterpublics (see Fraser, 1997), but…

The United States Department of Education's "Annual Performance Report" (APR) for fiscal year (FY) 2009 provides detailed information on how the outcomes of the strategic performance measures identified in its "FY 2007-2012 Strategic Plan" and updated in the "Fiscal Year 2008 Performance and Accountability Report"…

The Hispanic Ad Hoc Coalition on Immigration prepared a formal position statement in response to the President's message to Congress on undocumented workers and immigration policy. This article gives a summary of the key elements of the Coalition's statement and a list of 10 organizations which endorse its position statement. (NQ)

The U.S. system of employment and unemployment statistics is fundamentally sound, but needs many significant expansions and refinements of the data. This article reports on the National Commission on Employment and Unemployment Statistics' recommendations and the secretary of labor's response. (CT)

Outlook is the monthly newsletter for the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). Each issue contains information relating to private education such as: new legislation and regulations, the most recent research, court rulings, national trends, federal initiatives, private school news briefs, and more. This issue contains the following…

Concern has grown that the United States is losing its competitive edge in science and technology (S&T). The factors driving this concern include globalization, the rise of science centers in developing countries such as China and India, the increasing number of foreign-born Ph.D. students in the United States, and claims of a shortage of…