Responses from 251 of 831 public sector administrators yielded no single idea or definition of work force diversity; 43.5% believed it was the same as equal employment opportunity/affirmative action, 40.5% thought it was different. Of individual characteristics of diversity, 94.9% selected race, 85.1% gender. Existing diversity programs were…

A psychological contract is a set of unwritten reciprocal expectations between trainee and training program. Public agency trainers must establish and manage psychological contracts through clearly defined objectives and development of a learning climate that leads to effective training. (SK)

Kolb's Experiential Learning Model suggests that people differ in how they perceive and process information. Public agency training should incorporate knowledge of brain hemisphere dominance and learning style preferences in training design. (SK)

Discussed are the efforts of the Pentagon to help U.S. companies remain competitive in high-tech civilian markets. The tug-of-war for these companies between Congress, which has come to view them as a vehicle for pork-barrel funding, and the administration, which is trying to rein them in, is described. (KR)

Describes the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH), a membership coalition of 65 cultural organizations and institutions, including arts, humanities, and information technology communities, committed to successful integrated networking of cultural resources. The NINCH Web site, strategic community-wide meetings,…

Discusses public sector information technology (IT) funding problems, focusing on ways to improve government budgeting for IT. Presents three broad categories of insights from a Harvard workshop: Proposals to Improve Participation in the IT Budgeting Process; Proposals to Develop Better IT Investment Portfolios; Proposals to Utilize…

Examines three non-deliberate models which reinscribe the suppression of indifference of the bourgeois public sphere in public deliberation. Explains the primary implication has been the construction of separate realms of public and private and particular discourse forms for each realm. Asserts that ends eventually must be determined by…

Emphasis upon creation of a culture of lifelong learning propels the issue of accessibility to guidance for adults into the limelight. Career services and other career-guidance providers demonstrate a commitment to all-age guidance in the absence of coherent policy, and are wrestling with ambiguities inherent in the "private/public"…

Discusses the influence of employee race/ethnicity and gender identity, associated stereotyping and prejudice, and the nature of interpersonal relations on acceptance of diversity and support for diversity-management initiatives. A case study of 160 supervisors and 350 employees illustrates which factors influence employee support for diversity in…

A comparison of 47 public- and 170 private-sector workers revealed private-sector workers value good wages most and public-sector workers value interesting work. Results suggest that employers must keep in touch with employee values to design jobs, reward systems, and human-resource policies that will result in maximum job satisfaction. (JOW)

A public entity facing an environmental cleanup can take certain measures to dramatically increase its chance of coverage. Argues that many comprehensive general-liability insurance policies have coverage if the pollution is "sudden and accidental." (MLF)

Describes what went on as a "Children's Plan" was being designed to meet the needs of children in a state with a very high juvenile incarceration rate. The state program was to be compared with a contemporaneous private sector program, but the private program was taken over by the state after two years, thus making comparison impossible. (JPS)

Five new realities affect community problem solving: (1) fewer public dollars; (2) increased local/regional responsibility; (3) renewed focus on local government integrity; (4) wider distribution of community power; and (5) increasingly diverse population. Communities that prosper practice collaborative problem solving and consensus-based decision…

Examines concepts and ideas behind the practice of distance education, including commercialization; the role of public institutions and private sector firms; a vision to open the process of learning to new possibilities; and barriers to distance education, including legal, administrative, and financial. (LRW)

Discuss advantages and disadvantages of the privatization of public schools, including for-profit companies and charter schools. (PKP)