The focus on this two-part document is the background information illuminating the underlying issues of the 1974-75 National High School Debate Resolutions. Within the general category of the problems of political reform, the specific problem area is stated as "How can the federal political system best be improved?" The three debate…

Reasons for George McGovern's presidential election failure are summarized in the context of McGovern's rhetoric as a challenger. Taking the point of view that McGovern abandoned the traditional rhetorical advantages of the challenger, the authors conclude that this abandonment along with the problems of financing, the impression of alignment with…

"Agenda-setting" is a concept that describes the effect of the news media on social groups and public opinion on major issues. Recent studies in communication are focusing on the power of the media, by selection of and emphasis on selected news, to influence public attention and to raise certain issues high on the public "agenda." The effect of…

Concludes that as black unemployment rates stay well above the national average, black power's potential for precipitating change has diminished because its internal weaknesses have enabled it to be transformed into reinforcement for conventional American political and economic ideology. (Author/AM)

Focuses on five types of political alienation: estrangement; negative evaluation of the American political system, negative evaluation of the competence of public officials, negative evaluation of the motives of public officials, and rejection of the institution of elections. (Author/AM)

Piaget's model of intellectual maturity was used to examine young people's perspectives on foreign policy. Results indicate that cognitive maturity is positively associated with the ability to make deliberative policy judgments. Young Americans exhibit relatively low levels of political impulsiveness and have a realistic view of foreign policy…

Investigates evaluations by 10 successful federal and provincial politicians of school board experience as a political apprenticeship. Notes that regardless of political socialization or prior experience, all agreed that school board experience was valuable, provided valuable political skills, and had a strong politicizing effect on them, changing…

A review of an American and an English economic study, facts, figures, and trends are presented to confirm the durability of inequality in the private economy, and the primarily passive role of the public sector, except for compulsory education and subsistence welfare for the very poor. (DM)

Describes a university course on East German art and politics. Provides a syllabus and list of required tests. (EKN)

The author considers the educational systems of several socialist or communist countries and previews the nature of mathematics education in these states. (MP)

Suggests that declines in newspaper penetration, lessened competition, or shifts toward getting news from television weakens people's understanding about partisan candidates. (RL)

Suggests that the 1988 Southern regional primary may have shifted perceptions about the region's political importance. Concludes through surveys of 1028 eligible Southern voters that exposure to news media, but not partisan information, was positively and significantly related to awareness of the primary and perceptions of increased Southern…

Discusses five children's books with a multicultural perspective published to commemorate the Columbus Quincentenary. Finds that the books maintain a deeply Eurocentric bias; bury all wrongs in a distant past; and do not escape the hierarchial, elitist, and individualistic attitudes embedded in contemporary society. (SR)

Shares the views of one professor of reading in Berlin on reading instruction in Germany both before and after the reunification of Germany. (MG)