The Creation of a New Underclass in China and its Implications

"This paper examines the causes of a new underclass in China. The paper has three main objectives. The first objective is to demonstrate that economic reforms are the force that brought about this poverty and marginalization--in their several forms--that now so bedevil the Party rulers, and to examine the background and nature of the associated problems. The next objective is to show how "weapons of the state" have been forged or enhanced by the turn to marketization and the affluence this afforded the state, and how these tools are being put to use to quiet the discontented. And last, the paper offers a few policy suggestions--possibilities that either have not yet been attempted, or that have not yet yielded optimal effects." Author : Dorothy Solinger, U.C. Irvine | Source : Center for the Study of Democracy

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Living Arrangments of Children

"Children live in a variety of family arrangements that usually reflect the marriage, divorce, and remarriage patterns of their parents. In addition, one third of children today are born out-of-wedlock and may grow up in single parent families or spend significant portions of their lives with other relatives or stepparents. This report examines the diversity of children's living arrangements in American households." Source : U.S. Census Bureau

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U.S. Trade Deficit and the Impact of Rising Oil Prices

"Petroleum prices have risen sharply since early 2004. At the same time, however, the average amount of imports of energy-related petroleum products has risen slightly. The combination of sharply rising prices and a slightly elevated level of demand for imports of energy-related petroleum products translates into an escalating cost for those imports. This rising cost could add an estimated $60 to $90 billion to the Nation's trade deficit in 2005, depending on how sustainable are the recent price increases."

This report provides an estimate of the initial impact of the rising oil prices on the Nation's merchandise trade deficit. This report will be updated as warranted by events.

Source : Congressional Research Service

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Central Asia: Regional Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States recognized the independence of all the former Central Asian republics, supported their admission into Western organizations, and elicited Turkish support in countering Iranian influence in the region. Congress was at the forefront in urging the formation of coherent U.S. policies for aiding these and other Eurasian states of the former Soviet Union."

"Soon after the terrorist attacks on America on September 11, 2001, all the Central Asian states offered overflight and other support to coalition anti-terrorist efforts in Afghanistan. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have hosted coalition troops and provided access to airbases. In 2003, Uzbekistan endorsed coalition military action in Iraq and Kazakhstan provided about two dozen troops for rebuilding. After September 11, 2001, U.S. policy emphasized bolstering the security of the Central Asian states to help them combat terrorism, proliferation, and arms trafficking."

"Some observers call for different emphases or levels of U.S. involvement in Central Asia. Some have called for strengthening conditions linking aid to progress in improving human rights or in making adequate progress in democratization and the creation of free markets. Some have disputed the importance of energy resources to U.S. national security. Others point to civil and ethnic tensions in the region as possibly endangering U.S. lives and investments. Heightened congressional interest in Central Asia was reflected in passage of "Silk Road" language in late 1999 (P.L. 106-113) authorizing enhanced U.S. policy attention and aid to support conflict amelioration, humanitarian needs, economic development, transport (including energy pipelines) and communications, border controls, democracy, and the creation of civil societies in the South Caucasian and Central Asian states." Source : Congressional Research Service

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The Wilson-Plame-Novak-Rove Blame Game

"Both sides twist and hype the case of a CIA agent’s leaked identity. We document what’s known so far."

"Here we won’t attempt to debunk every false or misleading claim. We thought our readers would be better served by a timeline documenting what is publicly known so far, with citations for each fact and links to original source whenever possible."

Source: FactCheck.org (Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania)

Link to online article

Supreme Court Nominations Not Confirmed, 1789-2004

"Of the 154 nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court between 1789 and 2004, 34 were not confirmed by the Senate. The 34 nominations represent 29 individuals whose names were sent forward to the Senate by Presidents (some individuals were nominated more than once). Of the 29 individuals who failed to be confirmed the first time they were nominated, however, five were later nominated again and confirmed. The Supreme Court nominations discussed here were not confirmed for a variety of reasons, including Senate opposition to the nominating President, nominee’s views, or incumbent Court; senatorial courtesy; perceived political unreliability of the nominee; perceived lack of ability; interest group opposition; and fear of altering the balance of the Court." Source: Congressional Research Service

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101 Facts on the Status of Workingwomen

"While women have made progress in several areas, some numbers are changing much too slowly. The wage gap has narrowed by only a half a penny a year for the past 40 years. The gap between median earnings of full-time, year-round workers widened last year, with women’s earnings currently 76% of men’s, down from 77% in 2004. At this rate, it will take another 40 years for women to reach wage parity with men, and over the course of a working lifetime, the average women loses approximately $523,000 due to the wage gap. 101 Facts on the Status of Workingwomen gathers facts on the status of women in the labor force, the wage gap, women entrepreneurs, women in the Fortune 500 & 1000, women in the government, women and higher education, women’s buying power, women and philanthropy, women and families, women and care giving, domestic violence and the workplace, women and retirement, and women’s health." Source: Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation

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Overview of the Chinese Economy

"The economy of the People’s Republic of China is strongly influenced by the Chinese government through its extensive ownership, control, and financing of major businesses, according to a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released today by Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, Overview of the Chinese Economy, examines the evolution of Chinese economic policy in recent decades and its impact on the structure of the Chinese economy." Source: U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee

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Parental Reports of Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties

"Good emotional and behavioral health enhances a child's sense of well-being, leads to satisfying social relationships at home and with peers, and leads to achievement of full academic potential. Children with emotional and behavioral difficulties may have problems managing their emotions, focusing on tasks, and/or controlling their behavior. These difficulties, which may persist throughout a child’s development and can lead to lifelong disability, are usually first noticed by parents. Parents’ reports are crucial to alerting doctors about their child’s emotional and behavioral difficulties and to obtaining mental health services." Source: National Institute of Mental Health and 2005 Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics

Link to online report (data tables also available)

Archive of Early American Images

The Archive of Early American Images is drawn entirely from the holdings of the John Carter Brown Library, an independently funded and administered institution for advanced research in history and the humanities, founded in 1846, and located at Brown University since 1901. The Library houses one of the world’s outstanding collections of books, maps, and manuscripts relating to the colonial period of the Americas, North and South, from 1492 to ca. 1825.

The database is intended to assist historians in their quest for contemporary images to illustrate their research findings and to facilitate the study of historical images in their own right and in proper context. It is also intended to be a unique resource for picture researchers, documentary filmmakers, and others looking for material for commercial use. The database, still in the process of compilation, will have ultimately about 6,000 images.

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Iraq’s Constitution at a Crossroads

"Both Iraq’s and America’s leaders have stressed their determination that Iraq meet the August 15th deadline for a draft constitution. Yet, the original political logic underlying the deadline has lost much of its relevance, argues Carnegie Arab constitutional expert Nathan Brown, and Iraq should consider using the six-month allowance for an extension to ensure the constitution is a viable, unifying document. Brown cautions that rushing to meet the deadline could result in a draft constitution that embodies the varying interests of Iraq’s contending groups but fails to resolve their differences. In his new Policy Outlook, Iraq’s Constitutional Process Plunges Ahead, Brown explains the constitutional process, its pitfalls and potential outcomes." Source: Carnegie Endowmnent for International Peace

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Annual Report to Congress: The Military Power of the People's Republic of China 2005

"This report outlines what we know of China’s national and military strategies, progress and trends in its military modernization, and their implications for regional security and stability. But, secrecy envelops most aspects of Chinese security affairs. The outside world has little knowledge of Chinese motivations and decision-making and of key capabilities supporting PLA modernization. Hence, the findings and conclusions are based on incomplete data. These gaps are, of necessity, bridged by informed judgment." Source: Office of the Secretary of Defense

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Establishing Law and Order After Conflict

"In a nation-building operation, outside states invest much of their resources in establishing and maintaining the host country’s police, internal security forces, and justice system. This book examines post-Cold War reconstruction efforts, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, and assesses the success of U.S. and allied efforts in reconstructing internal security institutions." Source: RAND Corporation

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The leaked Iraq war documents

"Designed to give our readers access to all the stories we have written about three highly classified documents on the Iraq war that were leaked to The Sunday Times ahead of the British General Election on May 5, 2005.

These three documents include the now famous “Downing Street Memo”, which contains the minutes of a meeting of what was effectively Tony Blair’s war cabinet held in Downing Street on July 23, 2002."

Source : The Sunday Times - Britain

Link to online articles and documents

Watching America

"Discover what the world thinks about the US" with "Translated Foreign News Available NOWHERE Else In English." Includes text, videos, and other media from Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

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Economic Integration and the Environment in Mexico

"This paper examines the extent to which economic integration affected levels of environmental degradation in Mexico during the period 1985 to 2000. During that time, Mexico transformed itself from one of the most closed to one of the most open economies in the world.

To answer this question, the paper draws on two theories from the economics literature: the so-called environmental kuznets curve (EKC) and the pollution haven hypothesis. During the often contentious debates over the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), proponents of free trade drew from the EKC to argue that in nations like Mexico economic integration would eventually lead to environmental improvements. Conversely, opponents of free trade evoked the pollution haven hypothesis to argue that free trade would automatically worsen environmental conditions in developing countries."
Source : U.C. Berkeley Center for Latin American Studies. CLAS Working Papers. Paper 13.

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The Women of Ciudad Juárez

"According to recent estimates published by the federal Attorney General s Office in Mexico, approximately 340 women, most of them young and poor, have been the victims of violent homicide in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua since 1993. Although many of these killings appear to have been caused by domestic violence, a disturbingly large number of cases seem to be the work of sexually motivated serial killers.

A common pattern has emerged in these killings: victims are kidnapped, raped and tortured, and their mutilated bodies are left in garbage dumps or in the outlying desert areas of the city. In spite of the gravity and frequency of these crimes, the problem of the women of Juárez was barely acknowledged in Mexico until quite recently and no serious action was taken to prosecute the killers or ensure women s safety." Source : U.C. Berkeley Center for Latin American Studies. CLAS Policy Papers.

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Supreme Court Nomination Blog

This weblog is collecting news, legal and opinion pieces about the Supreme Court Nomination. Also valuable at this site is a collection of the selected opinions by Judge John G. Roberts.

Link to Supreme Court Nomination Blog

Link to selected opinions by Judge Roberts

Also related from Inside Higher Ed : A Bush Choice With College Ties

Optimism and Pessimism as Predictors of Change in Health After Death or Onset of Severe Illness in Family

From press release: "In the first large-scale prospective study, researchers demonstrate the protective effects of an optimistic life orientation on health after experiencing a specific life stress situation. This effect was found to occur independently of a person’s actions compared to other life events that can be caused by a person’s actions, like some accidents. Furthermore, this study assessed a person’s level of optimism and pessimism before the event, which lessens the possibility of the event actually changing a person’s level of optimism." Source: Health Psychology/American Psychological Association

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Social Incentives for Sex Differences in the Propensity to Initiate Negotiation

Abstract : Two experiments show that sex differences in the propensity to initiate negotiations may be explained by differential treatment of men and women when they attempt to negotiate. In Experiment 1, participants evaluated candidates who either accepted compensation offers without comment or attempted to negotiate higher compensation. Men only penalized female candidates for attempting to negotiate whereas women penalized both male and female candidates. Perceptions of niceness and demandingness mediated these effects. In Experiment 2, participants adopted candidates’ role in same scenario and assessed whether to accept the compensation offer or attempt to negotiate for more. Women were less likely than men to choose to negotiate when the evaluator was male, but not when the evaluator was female. This effect was mediated by women’s nervousness about negotiating with male evaluators. This work illuminates how differential treatment may influence the distribution of organizational resources through sex differences in the propensity to negotiate" Authors : Hannah Riley Bowles, Linda Babcock and Lei Lai | Source: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Faculty Research Working Paper Series.

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Iraq: U.S. Regime Change Efforts and Post-Saddam Governance

"Operation Iraqi Freedom accomplished a long-standing U.S. objective, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but replacing his regime with a stable, moderate, democratic political structure has been complicated by a persistent Sunni Arab-led insurgency. The Bush Administration asserts that establishing democracy in Iraq will catalyze the promotion of democracy throughout the Middle East and would also likely prevent Iraq from becoming a sanctuary or incubator for terrorists, a key recommendation of the July 2004 report of the 9/11 Commission. The Bush Administration asserts that U.S. policy in Iraq is now showing substantial success, demonstrated by January 30, 2005, elections that chose a National Assembly, and progress in building Iraq's various security forces. The Administration says it expects that the current transition roadmap -- including votes on a permanent constitution by October 31, 2005, and for a permanent government by December 15, 2005 -- will be implemented. The Administration believes that it has largely healed a rift with some European countries over the decision to invade Iraq, and it points to NATO and other nations' contributions of training for Iraqi security forces and government personnel." Source : Congressional Research Service [via open CRS]

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Technorati tag : iraq war

Feeling and Believing: The Influence of Emotion on Trust

Abstract : "We report results from five experiments that describe the influence of emotional states on trust. We find that incidental emotions significantly influence trust in unrelated settings. Happiness and gratitude, emotions with positive valence, increase trust, and anger, an emotion with negative valence, decreases trust. Specifically, we find that emotions characterized by other-person control (anger and gratitude) and weak control appraisals (happiness) influence trust significantly more than emotions characterized by personal control (pride and guilt) or situational control (sadness). These findings suggest that emotions may be more likely to be misattributed when the appraisals of the emotion are consistent with the judgment task than when the appraisals of the emotion are inconsistent with the judgment task. Salience of the emotion s cause and target familiarity moderate the relationship between incidental emotions and trust. Emotions do not influence trust when individuals are aware of the source of their emotions or when individuals are very familiar with the trustee." Authors : Jennifer R. Dunn and Maurice E. Schweitzer | Source : University of Pennsylvania

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Academic Journal Policy Database

"Experience shows that violating publishers' publication policies is one of the main concerns of faculty and students embarking on electronic submission of a thesis or dissertation (ETDs). It is often difficult to discover the publishers' policies and thus even more difficult to properly inform faculty and students about these policies."

"In response to this problem, the University of Cincinnati has developed a database of links to publishers' journal policies called the Academic Journal Policy Database (AJPD). Our goal is to provide a global mechanism for students, faculty, administrators, and publishers to share information and facilitate electronic publishing education."

Link to site

Getting a Job: Is There a Motherhood Penalty?

"Relative to other kinds of applicants, mothers were rated as less competent, less committed, less suitable for hire, promotion, and management training, and deserving of lower salaries. Mothers were also held to higher performance and punctuality standards. Men were not penalized for being a parent, and in fact, appeared to benefit from having children on some measures. We discuss the implications of these findings for the theory presented and for enduring patterns of gender inequality in paid work." Authors : Shelley J. Correll, Stephan Bernard Cornell University, Department of Sociology

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technorati tags : gender issues,employment

Do Women Shy Away From Competition? Do Men Compete Too Much?

Abstract : "Competitive high ranking positions are largely occupied by men, and women remain scarce in engineering and sciences. Explanations for these occupational differences focus on discrimination and preferences for work hours and field of study. We examine if absent these factors gender differences in occupations may still occur. Specifically we explore whether women and men, on a leveled playing field, differ in their selection into competitive environments. Men and women in a laboratory experiment perform a real task under a non-competitive piece rate and a competitive tournament scheme. Although there are no gender differences in performance under either compensation, there is a substantial gender difference when participants subsequently choose the scheme they want to apply to their next performance. Twice as many men as women choose the tournament over the piece rate. This gender gap in tournament entry is not explained by performance either before or after the entry decision. Furthermore, while men are more optimistic about their relative performance, differences in beliefs only explain a small share of the gap in tournament entry. In a final task we assess the impact of non-tournament-specific factors, such as risk and feedback aversion, on the gender difference in compensation choice. We conclude that even controlling for these general factors, there is a large residual gender gap in tournament entry." Authors : Muriel Niederle, Lise Vesterlund | Source : NBER

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Technorati Tags : gender issues, competition, economics

Layoffs, Lemons, Race, and Gender

"This paper expands on Gibbons and Katz (1991) by looking at how the difference in wage losses across plant closing and layoff varies with race and gender. We find that the differences between white males and the other groups are striking and complex. The lemons effect of layoff holds for white males as in Gibbons and Katz model, but not for the other three demographic groups (white females, black females, and black males). These three all experience a greater decline in earnings at plant closings than at layoffs. This results from two reinforcing effects. First, plant closings have substantially more negative effects on minorities than on whites. Second, layoffs seem to have more negative consequences for white men than the other groups. We also find that the relative wage losses of blacks following layoffs increased after the Civil Rights Act of 1991 which we take as suggestive of an informational effect of layoff as in Gibbons and Katz. The results are suggestive that the large losses that African Americans experience at plant closing could result from heterogeneity in taste discrimination across firms." Authors : Luojia Hu, Christopher Taber | Source : NBER

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Technorati Tag : economics

Patients' perceptions of cultural factors affecting the quality of their medical encounters

Abstract : Objective The aim of this study was to identify key domains of cultural competence from the perspective of ethnically and linguistically diverse patients. Design The study involved one-time focus groups in community settings with 61 African-Americans, 45 Latinos and 55 non-Latino Whites. Participants' mean age was 48 years, 45% were women, and 47% had less than a high school education. Participants in 19 groups were asked the meaning of 'culture' and what cultural factors influenced the quality of their medical encounters. Each text unit (TU or identifiable continuous verbal utterance) of focus group transcripts was content analysed to identify key dimensions using inductive and deductive methods. The proportion of TUs was calculated for each dimension by ethnic group. Results Definitions of culture common to all three ethnic groups included value systems (25% of TUs), customs (17%), self-identified ethnicity (15%), nationality (11%) and stereotypes (4%). Factors influencing the quality of medical encounters common to all ethnic groups included sensitivity to complementary/alternative medicine (17%), health insurance-based discrimination (12%), social class-based discrimination (9%), ethnic concordance of physician and patient (8%), and age-based discrimination (4%). Physicians' acceptance of the role of spirtuality (2%) and of family (2%), and ethnicity-based discrimination (11%) were cultural factors specific to non-Whites. Language issues (21%) and immigration status (5%) were Latino-specific factors. Conclusions Providing quality health care to ethnically diverse patients requires cultural flexibility to elicit and respond to cultural factors in medical encounters. Interventions to reduce disparities in health and health care in the USA need to address cultural factors that affect the quality of medical encounters. Authors : A M. Napoles-Springer, J Santoyo, K Houston, E J. Perez-Stable, and A L. Stewart | U.C. eScholarship Repository. This is an electronic version of an Article published in Health Expectations (2005), 8, pp.4–17.

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Technorati Tag : health care

Race, Ethnicity, and Youth Perceptions of Criminal Justice

"A study of Chicago public high school students suggests that American minority groups’ widespread belief that the police and the courts treat them unfairly may begin to solidify in the 9th and 10th grades. That is a transitional time when African-American and Latino youth are likely to have more exposure to whites and compare their treatment to that of other groups in the larger society. Because the police are a great presence in Chicago public schools with increasing authority to confront students the minority youth also are likely to interact more with police at that age." Authors : John Hagan, Carla Shedd, and Monique R. Payne | Source: American Sociological Review

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A Survey of Online Research Habits of Stanford Law Students

"The reference librarians have long observed that students strongly favor electronic resources, and the survey results bear out this observation. When helping students with their research, we often will generate a bibliography of citations, some of which are available electronically and others of which exist only in print. Many students will only look at the online resources." Source: Robert Crown Law Library, Stanford Law School

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What don't we know? : 125 questions

"In a special collection of articles published beginning 1 July 2005, Science Magazine and its online companion sites celebrate the journal's 125th anniversary with a look forward -- at the most compelling puzzles and questions facing scientists today. A special, free news feature in Science explores 125 big questions that face scientific inquiry over the next quarter-century; accompanying the feature are several online extras including a reader's forum on the big questions." Source : Science Magazine

Link to site

Tecnorati tags : science

What Do Parents Value in Education? An Investigation of Parents' Revealed Preferences for Teachers

Abstract : This paper examines revealed parent preferences for their children’s education using a unique data set that includes the number of parent requests for individual elementary school teachers along with information on teacher attributes including principal reports of teacher characteristics that are typically unobservable. We find that, on average, parents strongly prefer teachers that principals describe as good at promoting student satisfaction and place relatively less value on a teacher’s ability to raise standardized math or reading achievement. These aggregate effects, however, mask striking differences across family demographics. Families in higher poverty schools strongly value student achievement and are essentially indifferent to the principal’s report of a teacher’s ability to promote student satisfaction. The results are reversed for families in higher-income schools. Authors : Brian A. Jacob and Lars Lefgren | Source: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Faculty Research Working Paper Series

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Technorati Tags : education | culture

Canine Legislation

"In conjunction with our network of Legislative Liaisons, the American Kennel Club's Canine Legislation Department monitors and provides input for federal, state and local legislation governing responsible dog ownership. AKC Canine Legislation also provides position statements." Information includes position statements on air travel, pet and animal welfare statutes, and breed specific legislation. Source : American Kennel Club

Link to site

Technorati Tags: dogs | legislation

What's Behind BoA's Bold Move into China?

"Wharton faculty members and others who follow China say BoA's high-profile move gives it a foothold in a country with a Wild West business culture -- where the potential for both profitability and missteps is apportioned in equal measure. The deal gives CCB much-needed cash and a measure of respectability as it prepares for major changes in China's competitive environment. But some observers say BoA executives may have bitten off more than they can chew if they think the company's equity position will give it a significant amount of influence in reforming CCB." Source : Knowledge@Wharton

Link to online article

Justice O'Connor's Retirement

Chronicle of Higher Education's coverage of Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation:

• Justice O'Connor, Author of Key Rulings in Higher-Education Cases, Announces Retirement From Supreme Court by By Peter Schmidt [link]
• The Politics of Retirement From the Supreme Court: Reflections of a Court Watcher [link]
• Opinion: The Court Begins to Shift by Mark Rahdert, Temple University and Lawrence White,chief legal counsel of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. [link]

NPR has a collection of related online news stories including a 2002 interview with justice O'Connor [link]

PBS companion site from the News Hour includes audio and video clips [link]
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Technorati Tags : Justice O'Connor | Supreme Court | News

Wages in Profit and Nonprofit Hospitals and Universities

"This article compares average hourly earnings in private for-profit hospitals to those in private nonprofit hospitals. It then compares those rates to the rates in State and local government hospitals, which by definition are nonprofit. The comparisons include average hourly rates for all workers, full-time workers, part-time workers, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses. Next, the article compares average hourly rates in State and local government colleges and universities to those in private nonprofit colleges and universities. In addition to comparing the rates for all workers, full-time workers, and part-time workers, the study compares the average hourly rates for all teachers." Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Link to online report

Report Of The APA Presidential Task Force On Psychological Ethics And National Security

"The American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Psychological Ethics and National Security today released its report affirming the adequacy of the current APA Ethics Code in addressing the ethical dimensions of psychologists’ involvement in national security-related activities and affirming APA’s continuing central role and commitment to developing policies that address the role of psychology and psychologists in investigations related to national security. The Task Force report also called for APA to develop further its resources to provide ethics consultation to psychologists who work with classified information in national security-related settings." Source: American Psychological Association

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Ambient Odors Influence the Amplitude and Time Course of Visual Distraction

"Experimental participants became far more visually attentive to environmental distractions when, unaware, they were exposed to an odor that stimulates the facial trigeminal nerve. Because this nerve travels to the brain’s 'danger' center, the researchers suspect that certain odors may signal the nervous system to put the other senses on guard." Source: Behavioral Neuroscience (APA)

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Unauthorized Employment of Aliens: Basics of Employer Sanctions

"The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 19861 (IRCA) sought to end unauthorized employment by imposing penalties on employers who knowingly hire or continue to employ aliens not authorized to work in the United States (e.g., illegal aliens and foreign tourists). The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 19962 (IIRIRA) amended some of the provisions of IRCA by reducing the number of acceptable documents for completion of the Employment Eligibility Verification form (I-9) purposes, providing employers with the possibility of a good-faith defense against technical paperwork violations and providing some protection for employers who are part of multi-employer associations. This report summarizes the employer sanctions." Source : Congressional Research Service (CRS)

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U.K. National Advisory Centre on Early Language Learning (NACELL)

"Nacell is a Department for Education and Skills Initiative to promote and develop the provision and quality of Modern Foreign Language learning in the Primary sector." The site includes a best practice guide, professional development information, online resources including a Teaching Materials Database and networking information.

Link to Site

Aptitude for Destruction, Volume 1

Organizational Learning in Terrorist Groups and Its Implications for Combating Terrorism.

Abstract:
Better ways are needed to understand how terrorist groups become more effective and dangerous. Learning is the link between what a group wants to do and its ability to actually do it; therefore, a better understanding of group learning might contribute to the design of better measures for combating terrorism. This study analyzes current understanding of group learning and the factors that influence it and outlines a framework that should be useful in present analytical efforts and for identifying areas requiring further study. Authors : Brian A. Jackson, John C. Baker, Peter Chalk, R. Kim Cragin, John V. Parachini and Horacio R. Trujillo | Source : RAND Corporation

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