Teachers have a self-interest in using their influence to elect Representatives and Senators thus directly promoting educational legislation, which will help pay for the cost of public education. Their coordinating body, the NEA, has channelled teacher attitudes that have matured politically with unprecedented speed. (Author/RK)

Proposes that public service be made a career in the full sense of the term and suggests changes in the selection of city, county, state, and federal officials and legislators to help bring about the development of politics as a professional career. (SK)

Online information systems used by congressional legislators for administrative support, correspondence control, information retrieval, and electronc voting are presented. Expansion of these systems to permit public access is discussed. (RAA)

Studied policy maker attitudes toward education and education reform in general, focusing on educational vouchers. Survey responses from 89 state legislators from 6 states show that policy makers generally accept the market arguments used by voucher supporters but are sympathetic to equity concerns and funding issues raised by voucher opponents.…

Superintendents can wield influence at the statehouse if they know how. Offers tips from state-level lobbyists on how to reach a legislator's ear. (MLF)

Discusses the status of U.S. federal information policy. Topics covered include definitions of policy, the range of issues being covered, current actors and policy initiatives, and ways in which information science faculty can participate in the policy process. A bibliography of selected sources is provided. (10 notes/references) (Author/CLB)

Interview with Nancy Landon Kassebaum, third-term Senator from Kansas. Discusses the Head Start program, particularly funding and how it fits into welfare reform. Shares some of her home state's efforts with regard to the national education goals; family issues such as job training, literacy, safe child care, and preventive health care; and…

Seven politicians who have spent some time in the college classroom as professors or lecturers comment on the influence of their teaching experience on their approaches to law-making. The legislators are: Senator Phil Gramm, Senator Paul Simon, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Representative Roscoe G. Bartlett, Representative Bob Filner, Representative…

Survey data found that legislative research agencies (n=47) do not rely on college and university personnel and, when they do, most of their reliance is grounded in informal, direct contacts with individuals. College faculty must demonstrate ability to deliver information in a timely fashion, promote the effectiveness of applied research, and…

The United States House of Representatives' committees that make policy of importance to higher education are described, subcommittee leaders are profiled, and members are listed by political party. Telephone numbers are also provided. (MSE)

A latent class unfolding model is developed for single stimulus preference ratings. One advantage is the possibility of testing the spatial unfolding model against the unconstrained latent class model for rating data. The model is applied to data about party preferences of members of the Dutch parliament. (SLD)

Shares a letter the author (a professor emeritus of Language Arts education) wrote to her state assembly member in California in response to legislation, based on a very limited definition of reading, that imposed the use of phonics on school districts. Notes that the letter can serve as a model for other educators to respond to their legislator.…

Observes that the first Congress, 1789 to 1791, was the most important in American history. Discusses the role of individual congressional members, including Oliver Ellsworth, Richard Henry Lee, William Maclay, Fisher Ames, Daniel Carroll, Thomas Fitzsimmons, James Jackson, and James Madison. Suggests that these congressman can stimulate student…

Analyzes the events of July 23, 1993, when Carol Moseley-Braun was involved in two rhetorical events in the United States Senate dealing with racial issues and the rhetorical culture of the Senate. Concludes that the reactions are as telling as the actions, revealing a United States Senate fundamentally unprepared for such a subject and such a…

Examines 2 important congressional debates about race relations, and the relationship of journalism to these debates, in the late 19th century. Suggests that political elites commonly used news, opinion, and perceptions in press content and by journalists to support, defend, and buttress certain policy positions in these debates. (SR)