Discusses the evolution of real-time telephony and broadcast applications using the Internet; resulting issues and opportunities; and future implications for regulators, Internet users, and service providers. Topics covered include bandpass, packetized voice, IP structures, class D datagrams, software, technical parameters, legal and regulatory…

The U.S. attorney general describes his personal experiences with raising a son with disabilities, as well as the history behind passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Provisions of the ADA and accompanying regulations are described, as are the Justice Department's efforts to support ADA regulatory enforcement. (PB)

Two papers present arguments for and against the Communications Competitiveness and Infrastructure Act of 1991 (S. 1200). Topics addressed include earlier policy recommendations, competition in the telecommunications industry, benefits of video dial tone availability, telephone company participation in video services, restrictions on telephone…

A 1988 school bus disaster in Kentucky killed 27 passengers. A new book, "Reckless Disregard: Corporate Greed, Government Indifference, and the Kentucky School Bus Crash," by James S. Kunen, recounts the accident and the long court struggle to prove why the children died. Cites federal standards for bus safety that have been upgraded several times…

This symposium overview briefly summarizes following articles which identify problems in the quality of care provided by Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR), provide reactions, and identify positive trends. An emphasis on regulations and compliance is thought to be a major obstacle to quality services. (DB)

This paper discusses regulations and voluntary standards within the context of organizational mission and management leadership for quality in human services. Regulation is seen as a measure of organizational formalism; formalism is seen as an attribute of the machine organization; and both are contrasted to organic control organization models and…

In addressing the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Board, the National Association of College and University Business Officers' president urged the accounting standards boards to work together to establish a multiyear accounting research agenda for higher education. (Author/MSE)

Discusses Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Carol Browner's views on facilitating practical approaches that address major environmental issues in the United States. Examines issues of helping local communities, climate impact and prevention, water quality and quantity, and the EPA's changing role in society. (WRM)

Discusses how a complex regulatory system, along with a lack of consensus about the functions served by adoption, produces uncertainty on many basic issues, including distinguishing lawful adoption versus illegal "baby-selling." The author recommends passage of more uniform state adoption laws, describes the 1994 Uniform Adoption Act,…

As with so many guides for school improvement, the U.S. Department of Education's March 2006 Non-regulatory Guidance document entitled, "Designing Schoolwide Programs," continues to marginalize the essential role of student/learning supports. This brief report analyzes the guidance document with a specific focus on how to ensure Title I schoolwide…

This paper argues that the Children's Television Act of 1990 (CTA) required television broadcasters to air educational and informational children's programming, but Federal Communications Commission (FCC) policy did little to clarify the definition of "educational and informational." The paper first examines the historical…

This statement by Alfred C. Sikes, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Department of Commerce, discusses the NTIA's role in insuring information access for American business, and its role in developing public information policy, especially in light of the Bell…

The current trend toward deregulation of education at the federal level will not prove particularly significant if deregulation does not also occur at the state level. The Reagan administration's handling of deregulation has been clumsy, slow, inappropriate, and apparently guided by motivations other than the easing of administrative burdens.…

In recent years, according to the author, an outpouring of federal and state laws and judicial rulings has led educators to feel that they are subjected to unreasonable regulation. To examine the possible causes and cures of this feeling of regulatory intrusiveness, the author compares the regulation of business with the regulation of education.…

Americans are in a period of uncertainty about the scale of government, the best form of governmental services, and the fundamental principles that should guide governmental action. An increase in the scale of government does not necessarily mean that people demand more services. The scale of government may increase because state and municipal…