Journals Ranked by Impact: Political Science

"Compares the citation impact of journals in a given field as measured over three different time spans."

"Calculated by taking the number of all current citations to source items published in a journal over the previous two years and dividing by the number of articles published in the journal during the same period—in other words, a ratio between citations and recent citable items published. The rankings in the next two columns show impact over longer time spans, based on figures from the Thomson Scientific Journal Performance Indicators." Source: ISI Thomson Scientific

Top 5:

1. Am. Polit. Sci Rev.
2. Am. J. Polit. Science
3. Journal of Democracy
4. J. Conflict Resolution
5. Political Geography

Link entire list

Report Documents 18 Years of "Dirty War" in Mexico

February 26, 2006 - The National Security Archive posts on its Web site today a work of history in progress -- a draft of an unprecedented report by Mexico's government on the nation's "dirty war" of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

This document is the result of four years of work by the office of Mexico's Special Prosecutor for Social and Political Movements of the Past (Fiscalía Especial para Movimientos Sociales y Políticos del Pasado - FEMOSPP), Dr. Ignacio Carrillo Prieto. The office was created in 2002 by President Vicente Fox to investigate human rights crimes.

The crimes detailed in the draft report were committed during the administrations of Presidents Diaz Ordaz (1964-1970), Echeverría (1970-1976) and López Portillo (1976-1982). In those years, hundreds of Mexican citizens -- uncounted innocent civilians as well as armed militants -- were murdered or "disappeared" by military and security forces. Thousands more were tortured, or illegally detained, or subjected to government harassment and surveillance.

The report has not yet been made public, although its authors -- a group of 27 researchers, historians and activists contracted by the Special Prosecutor in 2004 to write it -- gave it to Dr. Prieto on December 15. But this draft of the report is currently circulating in Mexico. A reporter for a national magazine, Eme Equis, has a copy, and today is publishing an in-depth analysis of the section concerning state-sponsored counterinsurgency operations in Guerrero during the 1970s. Others have the report too, including the prominent writers and historians Elena Poniatowska, Carlos Montemayor and Carlos Monsivais. Source: National Security Archive.

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Recent Changes in U.S. Family Finances

"The Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances for 2004 provides insights into changes in family income and net worth since the 2001 survey. The survey shows that, over the 2001–04 period, the median value of real (inflation-adjusted) family income before taxes continued to trend up, rising 1.6 percent, whereas the mean value fell 2.3 percent. Patterns of change were mixed across demographic groups. These results stand in contrast to the strong and broad gains seen for the period between the 1998 and 2001 surveys and to the smaller but similarly broad gains between the 1995 and 1998 surveys." Source: Federal Reserve Bulletin

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Conscientious Objection in Medicine

"Values are important parts of our lives. But values and conscience have different roles in public and private life. They should influence discussion on what kind of health system to deliver. But they should not influence the care an individual doctor offers to his or her patient. The door to 'value-driven medicine' is a door to a Pandora’s box of idiosyncratic, bigoted, discriminatory medicine. Public servants must act in the public interest, not their own." Source: British Medical Journal

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Third Annual Report Card of the Policies and Preferences of Presidential Administrations with Regard to Human Rights

"In its third annual report on the human rights practices of US presidential administrations, the Center on Democratic Performance (CDP) at Binghamton University gives President Bush a ‘D' for his policies and performance on central issues of human rights for the year 2005. This reflects a decline of one grade over 2004, attributable mostly to reports on the use of political detention without trial, torture of political detainees, and the use of secret detention of political prisoners. On most other indicators of human rights policy – such as recognition of leaders from countries deemed repressive, and budgetary consideration of human rights issues, and treaties – the Administration remained relatively static from last year." Source: Center on Democratic Performance, Binghamton University, SUNY

Link to online report

Methodology / Grading

Snapshot of Philanthropy's Response to the Gulf Coast Hurricanes

"Foundations, corporations, and other institutional donors committed over $490 million to relief and recovery efforts in the first few months following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, according to Snapshot of Philanthropy’s Response to the Gulf Coast Hurricanes, a new report from the Foundation Center. This support represented 17 percent of an estimated $3 billion in private hurricane response giving." Source: The Foundation Center

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The Pentagon and the U.S. Intelligence Community's Secret Historical Document Reclassification Program

"Washington, D.C., February 21, 2006 - The CIA and other federal agencies have secretly reclassified over 55,000 pages of records taken from the open shelves at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), according to a report published today on the World Wide Web by the National Security Archive at George Washington University. Matthew Aid, author of the report and a visiting fellow at the Archive, discovered this secret program through his wide-ranging research in intelligence, military, and diplomatic records at NARA and found that the CIA and military agencies have reviewed millions of pages at an unknown cost to taxpayers in order to sequester documents from collections that had been open for years." Source: George Washington University

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One-Fifth of the Nation: A Comprehensive Guide to America's First Suburbs

"Neither fully urban nor completely suburban, America's older, inner-ring, "first" suburbs have a unique set of challenges—such as concentrations of elderly and immigrant populations as well as outmoded housing and commercial buildings—very different from those of the center city and fast growing newer places. Yet first suburbs exist in a policy blindspot with little in the way of state or federal tools to help them adapt to their new realities and secure a role as competitive and quality communities. This paper defines first suburbs throughout the nation, examines their similarities and differences, and, finally, sets out a policy agenda tailored specifically to these distinctive places." Source: The Brookings Institution, Metropolitan Policy Program

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Hurricane Spending and the Federal Budget

"Last year, three major hurricanes - Katrina, Rita, and Wilma - struck the U.S. Gulf Coast. In response to these disasters, Congress enacted two supplemental appropriations acts to provide a total of $62.3 billion for rescue, relief, reconstruction, and recovery operations. Federal policymakers are now changing their focus from short-term rescue and relief to long-term reconstruction and recovery. This report identifies some key considerations for evaluating such proposals." Source: Joint Economic Committee, United States Congress

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Poverty Reduction and Growth: Virtuous and Vicious Circles

"Latin American countries need to fight poverty more aggressively if they want to grow more and compete with China and other dynamic Asian economies, says a new World Bank report. According to Poverty Reduction and Growth: Virtuous and Vicious Circles, while growth is key for poverty reduction, poverty itself is hampering the achievement of high and sustained growth rates in Latin America, which remains one of the most unequal regions in the world with close to a fourth of the population living on less than US$2.00 a day." Source: World Bank


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Women and Girls in the Criminal Justice System

"Female criminal behavior has been commonly perceived as a less serious problem than male criminal behavior. Historically, women have been more likely to commit minor offenses and have made up only a small proportion of the offender population. Although women remain a relatively small number of all prisoners, these facts have concealed a trend in the rising percentage of female offenders, their participation in violent crime, and have inhibited the development of gender-specific programs to address the issue." Source: National Criminal Justice Reference Service

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Myths and Realities of American Political Geography

Abstract: The division of America into red states and blue states misleadingly suggests that states are split into two camps, but along most dimensions, like political orientation, states are on a continuum. By historical standards, the number of swing states is not particularly low, and America’s cultural divisions are not increasing. But despite the flaws of the red state/blue state framework, it does contain two profound truths. First, the heterogeneity of beliefs and attitudes across the United States is enormous and has always been so. Second, political divisions are becoming increasingly religious and cultural. The rise of religious politics is not without precedent, but rather returns us to the pre-New Deal norm. Religious political divisions are so common because religious groups provide politicians the opportunity to send targeted messages that excite their base. Source: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Faculty Research Working Paper Series

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Guantanamo Bay Detainees

"Five independent investigators specializing in issues related to arbitrary detention, freedom of religion, the right to health, torture and the independence of judges and lawyers of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights are calling on the United States to close immediately its detention centre in Guantánamo Bay and bring all detainees before an independent and competent tribunal or release them without further delay.

Their report, released today, follows an 18-month joint study by the experts into the situation of the detainees. The report's findings are based on information from the United States Government, interviews conducted by the experts with former Guantánamo Bay detainees currently residing or detained in France, Spain and the United Kingdom and responses from lawyers acting on behalf of some current detainees. It also relies on information available in the public domain, including reports prepared by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), information contained in declassified official United States government documents and media reports. The experts expressed regret that the US did not allow them the opportunity to have free access to detainees in Guantanamo Bay and carry out private interviews, normally provided by the terms of reference accepted by all countries they visit." Source : United Nations

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Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey

"Although the word rape is gender neutral, most rape victims are female (almost 86 percent), and most rapists are male. Female victims are significantly more likely than male victims to be raped by a current or former intimate partner and to sustain an injury during a rape. Many rape victims suffer serious mental health consequences. Only one in five adult women report their rape to the police. About half of the women raped as adults who had contact with police and about half who had contact with the courts were satisfied with their treatment." Source: National Institute of Justice

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Collective efficacy and obesity: The potential influence of social factors on health

Abstract

Social determinants have been identified as a fundamental cause of health and disease in most industrialized countries. However, much less is known about which characteristics of communities may lead to disparities in health outcomes. Collective efficacy—the willingness of community members to look out for each other and intervene when trouble arises—is a social factor shown to be associated with outcomes related to obesity, including premature mortality and cardiovascular disease. The objective of this study is to determine whether neighborhood collective efficacy is associated with individual measures of body mass index (BMI) in adolescents.

We use a multi-level, cross-sectional survey in Los Angeles County, involving 807 adolescents in 684 households in 65 neighborhoods in addition to a sample of 3000 adult respondents. The main outcomes measures are BMI, at risk of overweight, and overweight status. Using a two-level model, we find significant relationships between collective efficacy and all three outcomes, net of levels of neighborhood disadvantage.

The associations between BMI and collective efficacy could potentially be explained by several factors, including a metabolic pathway, neighborhood differences in the physical and social environments, or a combination of these two. If group-level collective efficacy is indeed important in the regulation of individual-level net energy balance, it suggests that future interventions to control weight by addressing the social environment at the community level may be promising.

Source: Rand Corporation

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full text books online

Although the Google Book Project gets the most press, there are other sites that have electronic versions of classics available for download. Titles include: The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells and thousands of others.
Access and download :
Manybooks.net
Project Gutenberg
University of Pennsylvania's Online Books Page

U.S.-China Trade Relations: Entering a New Phase of Greater Accountability and Enforcement

From the press release: "Despite three consecutive years of growing U.S. exports to China, the trade relationship between the two countries today “lacks equity, durability and balance” in the opportunities it provides, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman says.

"This disparity is due in part to China's failure to honor certain commitments, including its failure to enforce intellectual property rights, its protection and support for certain domestic industries, and its refusal to fulfill certain market opening commitments," Portman said at a February 14 press conference where he released the results of a USTR review of U.S.-China trade relations.

The report, U.S.-China Trade Relations: Entering a New Phase of Greater Accountability and Enforcement, is the first comprehensive statement of U.S. trade policy toward China since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. It assesses U.S.-China trade ties following China's first four years of membership in the WTO and reflects input from private China experts, industry, Congress and U.S. government agencies." Source: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

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MLA : How do I document sources from the Web in my works-cited list?

MLA style for citing electronic resources is covered in their online FAQ.

Examples of MLA citations are provided for:

1. Scholarly Project
2. Information Database
3. Personal Site
4. Book
5. Article in a Journal
6. Work from a Library Subscription Service
7. Posting to a Discussion List

and others.

link to site

APA Reference Examples for Electronic Source Materials

Extracted from the APA Style manual the site outlines proper citation format for electronic materials including:

1. Internet articles based on a print source
2. Article in an Internet-only journal
3. Article in an Internet-only newsletter
4. Document available on university program or department Web site
5. Electronic copy of a journal article, three to five authors, retrieved from database

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Girls and Drugs

"Despite commonly held beliefs that boys are at higher risk for using illegal substances, data indicate that girls have caught up with boys in illicit drug and alcohol use and have actually surpassed boys in cigarette and prescription drug use. There are also more girls who are new users of substances than boys." Source: White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)

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Learning to Think Spatially: GIS as a Support System in the K-12 Curriculum

"Learning to Think Spatially examines how spatial thinking might be incorporated into existing standards-based instruction across the school curriculum. Spatial thinking must be recognized as a fundamental part of K 12 education and as an integrator and a facilitator for problem solving across the curriculum. With advances in computing technologies and the increasing availability of geospatial data, spatial thinking will play a significant role in the information-based economy of the twenty-first century. Using appropriately designed support systems tailored to the K 12 context, spatial thinking can be taught formally to all students. A geographic information system (GIS) offers one example of a high-technology support system that can enable students and teachers to practice and apply spatial thinking in many areas of the curriculum." Source: Committee on Geography, National Research Council (via National Academies Press)

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A Failure of Initiative

The Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina.

According to the legislation creating it, the Select Committee is charged with conducting “a full and complete investigation and study and to report its findings to the House not later than February 15, 2006, regarding-- (1) the development, coordination, and execution by local, State, and Federal authorities of emergency response plans and other activities in preparation for Hurricane Katrina; and (2) the local, State, and Federal government response to Hurricane Katrina.” Source: Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the
Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina

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Media in the Home 2000

From the Report:

Media in the Home 2000 provides a profile of media ownership, use, and attitudes for parents and children in America. In addition, it tracks parental awareness, knowledge, and use of various public policies designed to regulate those media. This year s survey augments earlier APPC surveys by examining the ways in which parents supervise their children s use of the proliferating media that are increasingly a part of the American home, including a central media environment of the child: the bedroom. Conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide on behalf of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, this national survey of 1,235 parents of children between the ages of two and seventeen (margin of error ± 2.9 percent) and 416 children between the ages of eight and sixteen (margin of error ± 5 percent) reveals:

§ Almost half (48%) of all families with children between the ages of 2 and 17 have all four of the new media staples among families with children: a television, a VCR, video game equipment, and a computer. (See page 7 for details)

§ These media have not only penetrated the homes of American families generally, but are also prevalent in the bedrooms of American children. We surveyed children between the ages 8-16 and found: 57 percent of the sample has a television set in the bedroom; 39 percent has video game equipment; 36 percent has basic cable service; 32 percent has a telephone; 30 percent has a VCR; 20 percent has a computer; and 11 percent has access to the Internet. Children from low-income homes are more likely to have television sets in their bedrooms than children from higher income homes. (See page 17 for details)

According to parents, children spend almost 6½ hours using media each day. Children from low-income households spend 54 minutes more watching television, 30 minutes more watching videotapes, and 27 minutes more playing video games than children from high-income households. (See pages 19-20 for details)

Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

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"My Precious Loulie...": Love letters of the Civil War

"These letters often contain accounts of battles, life in camp, and general news. But many soldiers, as they marched off to face the enemy, had left behind a wife or sweetheart, and to them they would compose sweet, poignant, and occasionally funny letters that give life and personality to the participants in this great national conflict." Source: Special Collections Department, University Libraries, Virginia Tech

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Alternative Media and the Learning Culture of Civil Society: Outreach and Teach Strategies

Abstract : A media literate citizenry is at the core of vibrant democracy in civil society. However, local issues are frequently neglected in mass media, de-legitimizing the existence of real democracy. Alternative media mediate this discrepancy in providing access to communication venues through outreach and teach strategies. Many segments of civil society are searching for opportunities to voice their opinions through alternative media. Studies of citizen-produced media indicate that there are links between media use and learning, and that these links are embedded in socially interactive projects. This paper examines two examples of alternative media that use outreach and teach approaches in the United States: Free Speech TV and Indymedia. Our discussion explores the praxis of these media, their contribution to the teaching and learning of civil society and healthy democracy, and the cultural-political intersections of alternative media in formal and informal education. Source: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies.

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Cultural Studies, Media Spectacle, and Election 2004

"In this paper, I will illustrate my approach to cultural studies and the general importance of cultural studies through an analysis of the media spectacle of Election 2004. A cultural studies approach would involve a critical reading of the production of Election 2004 text; analysis of the election s dominant images, discourses, spectacles, and narratives; and an investigation of the ways in which audiences processed the election issues and media presentation and voted accordingly." Author: Douglas Kellner Source: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies


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Foundation Expenses and Compensation

"The new report examines the impact of a broader range of operating characteristics on the spending patterns of independent foundations -- such as staff size, scope of giving, foundation age, the involvement of family members, whether the foundation is endowed, and whether it awards grants to individuals. The report also expands the analysis of expense patterns to corporate and community foundations, provides a first look at the composition of expenses of the three types of foundations, and offers new benchmarking tables that will enable staffed and unstaffed foundations to compare their expenses and compensation levels with foundations of similar size and type." Source: Foundation Center, Guidestar, Urban Institute

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The Affordability Index: A New Tool for Measuring the True Affordability of a Housing Choice

"This brief describes a new information tool developed by the Urban Markets Initiative to quantify, for the first time, the impact of transportation costs on the affordability of housing choices. This brief explains the background, creation, and purpose of this new tool. The first section provides a project overview and a short summary of the method used to create the Affordability Index. The next section highlights the results from testing the index in a seven-county area in and around Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. To demonstrate the usefulness of this tool at a neighborhood level, the third section projects the effect of transportation and housing choices on three hypothetical low- and moderate-income families in each of four different neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. The brief concludes with suggested policy recommendations and applications of the new tool for various actors in the housing market, and for regulators, planners, and funders in the transportation and land use arenas at all levels of government." Source: The Brookings Institution, Urban Markets Initiative, Metropolitan Policy Program

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Dying Too Young in the Russian Federation

"Despite robust economic growth in recent years, Russia is facing phenomenal population decline, due in large part to untimely deaths from heart disease, traffic accidents, and alcoholism. Life expectancy in Russia is 12 years less than life expectancy in the US, a startling gap for a fellow-member of the G-8." Source: World Bank

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Race Differences in Tipping: Questions and Answers for the Restaurant Industry

"A widespread perception in the restaurant industry is that Black patrons tip less than do White customers. As a result, many waiters and waitresses dislike waiting on tables of Black parties, resist being assigned to serve Blacks, deliver inferior service to those black customers whom they must wait on, and refuse to work in restaurants with a large Black clientele. In turn, these attitudes and behavior reduce Blacks' patronage of table-service restaurants, contribute to discrimination lawsuits against restaurants, increase costs and reduce profits of restaurants with large Black clienteles, and deter restaurant chains from opening units in predominately Black communities. This report draws on the available research to pose and answer questions about race differences in tipping and about what servers, restaurant managers, industry organizations, and restaurant chains could do about those differences." Source: Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Center for Hospitality Research

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Data Security: Federal and State Laws

"Security breaches involving electronic personal data have come to light largely as a result of the California Security Breach Notification Act, a California notification law that went into effect in 2003. In response, the states and some Members have introduced bills that would require companies to notify persons affected by such security breaches. By December 2005, 35 states had introduced data security legislation and 22 states had enacted data security laws. Numerous data security bills have been introduced in the 109th Congress (S. 115, S. 500, S. 751, S. 768, S. 1216, S. 1326, S. 1332, S. 1408, S. 1594, S. 1789, S. 2169, H.R. 1069, H.R. 1080, H.R. 3140, H.R. 3374, H.R. 3375, H.R. 3397, H.R. 4127). S. 1326, S. 1408, and S. 1789 were reported by Senate committees. This report provides a brief discussion of federal and state data security laws. The security of personal information and risks to data are paramount concerns addressed in federal and state law, legislation, and regulations. The public disclosure of breaches of customer databases in 2005 heightened interest in the business and regulation of data brokers." Source: Congressional Research Service

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Census Bureau Report : American Indians and Alaska Natives in the U.S.

"This report provides a portrait of the American Indian and Alaska Native population in the United States and discusses the largest specified tribal groupings, reservations, Alaska Native village statistical areas (ANVSAs), and areas outside reservations and ANVSAs (outside tribal areas) at the national level."

"This report presents data for the following American Indian tribal groupings:
Apache
Cherokee
Chippewa
Choctaw
Creek
Iroquios
Lumbee
Navaho
Pueblo
Sioux

This report presents data for the following Alaska Native tribal groupings:
Alaska Athabascan
Aleut
Eskimo
Tlingit-Haida

This report also presents Census 2000 data for the single-race American Indian and Alaska Native population for those who lived inside and those who lived outside tribal areas."

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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Trial of Saddam Hussein

"Intended to provide the viewer with essential information related to the relevant trials. It will also set out a selection of reference materials that will further explain important aspects of the trials. In making this selection, the Law Library of Congress does not endorse or attest to the authenticity of any such referenced materials or information.

In addition to viewers in general, the following of the development of the trial of Saddam Hussein, which started in October 2005, may be of special interest to legal scholars of international criminal law and the seekers of universal justice."

Source: Law Library of Congress

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100 Companies Receiving The Largest Dollar Volume Of Prime Contract Awards

"This report presents summary data on the 100 companies, and their subsidiaries, receiving the largest dollar volume of Department of Defense (DoD) prime contract awards during fiscal year (FY) 2005. Table 1 lists the 100 companies in alphabetical order and gives their associated rank. Table 2 identifies the parent companies in rank order, with their subsidiaries, and gives the total net value of awards for both the parent company and its subsidiaries. In many cases, the parent company receives no awards itself, but appears on the list because of its subsidiaries. Table 2 also shows what percentage of the total awards each company's awards represent. Table 3 lists the top 100 companies DoD-wide in rank order and breaks the totals into three categories of procurement: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E); Other Services and Construction; and Supplies and Equipment. Table 4 lists the top 50 companies for each of the Reporting Components in rank order, and by category of procurement." Source: Department of Defense Personnel and Procurement, Statistical Information Analysis Division

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New WPO Poll: Iraqi Public Thinks US Plans Permanent Bases in Iraq

"A new poll of the Iraqi public finds that a large majority of Iraqis think the US plans to maintain bases in Iraq permanently, even if the newly elected government asks the US to leave. A large majority favors setting a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces, though this majority divides over whether the timeline should be over a period of six months or two years. Nearly half of Iraqis approve of attacks on US-led forces—including nine out of 10 Sunnis. Most Iraqis believe that many aspects of their lives will improve once the US-led forces leave, but are nonetheless uncertain that Iraqi security forces are ready to stand on their own." Source: World Public Opinion.

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2006 Horizon Report

"The 2006 Horizon Report, just as has been the case with previous editions of the report, highlights six technologies that the underlying research suggests will become very important to higher education over the next one to five years. A central focus of the discussion of each technology is its relevance for teaching, learning, and creative expression. Live weblinks to example applications are provided in each section, as well as to additional readings." Source: New Media Consortium (NMC)

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Special Interest Groups and the Allocation of Public Funds

"A long-standing puzzle in the fiscal federalism literature is the empirical non-equivalence in government spending from grants and other income. I propose a fully rational model in which violations of fungibility arise from dynamic interactions between politicians and interest groups with the ability to raise funds for local government. The predictions of the model are tested by exploiting unique features of windfalls received by states under a settlement with the tobacco industry. Although windfalls are unrestricted, the median state increased spending on tobacco control programs from zero to $2.30 per capita upon receipt of funds. The marginal propensity to spend on such programs is 0.20 from settlement revenue and zero from overall income. States which were not involved in the settlement lawsuits spend less. The findings are consistent with the predictions of the model when political partisanship is introduced: Republican governors spend less and factors which should lead to political convergence increase spending for Republicans and decrease spending for Democrats. These results cannot be explained by existing models in the literature." Source: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Faculty Research Working Paper Series

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American Museum of Natural History Research Library Scientific Publications

"American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) scientific publications disseminate the results of laboratory investigations and fieldwork conducted by museum scientists and their colleagues in the areas of zoological systematics, paleontology, geology, evolution, and anthropology. This collection includes full-text PDFs of current and back issues of AMNH scientific series. The anthropology-related topics range from rites of passage (in Shanti Nagar, India) and anthropometric data (on natives of Pukapuka island) to a series of ethnographies (e.g., Boas on mythology of Bella Coola or Turnbull on Mbuti pygmies)." Source: Research Library of the American Museum of Natural History.

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Homeschooling in the United States

"This report provides statistics about the homeschooling population during the spring of 2003 and spring of 1999, and provides detailed characteristics of homeschoolers in both years. The results show that in 2003 there were 1,096,000 students being homeschooled, a figure that represents a 29 percent increase from the estimated 850,000 students who were being homeschooled in the spring of 1999." Source: National Center for Education Statisitcs.

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Unraveling Complexity in Products and Services

"Walk into any grocery store, bank, or insurance agency, and you will see complexity at work: More products and services are available to consumers than ever before. But, as businesses increase their product and service portfolios in response to evolving customer demands or through mergers and acquisitions, they run the risk of adding too much complexity, which can tax existing resources and ultimately harm returns. In this special report, experts from George Group Consulting and Wharton offer insight on how complexity can create considerable problems for companies -- often while remaining difficult to spot -- and suggest strategies for eliminating complexity or making it work to a company's advantage." Source: Knowledge@Wharton

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Military Forces: What is the Appropriate Size for the United States?

For several years, some Members of Congress and many military analysts have argued that the U.S. Armed Forces are too small to adequately meet all the requirements arising after the Cold War, particularly with the advent of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). In January 2004, the Department of Defense acknowledged a problem by temporarily adding 30,000 troops to the authorized active duty end strength of the Army. Congress addressed the issue by raising statutory end strengths in the FY2005 authorization bill (P.L. 108-375) and again for FY2006 (P.L. 109-163). This report describes the background of these actions, current Administration planning, and assesses significant issues for the 109th Congress. This report will be updated. Source: Congressional Research Service

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Hunting Goodwill: A History of the Concept of Goodwill in Trademark Law

ABSTRACT:
A deep tension lies at the heart of trademark law. On the one hand, the law’s core mission is to facilitate the transmission of accurate information to the market. Hence the touchstone of liability has always been the likelihood of consumer confusion. On the other hand, it is also customary to refer to trademark law as protecting goodwill in a mark. The problems arise because these two ways of formulating the goal push in different normative directions and create a policy tension that frustrates attempts to formulate a coherent body of doctrine.

This Article examines how the goodwill concept originally entered trademark law and traces its intellectual and social history and its impact on trademark doctrine. Ever since the 1920s, and with greater frequency during the past two decades, courts have relied on the idea that trademark law protects against appropriation of goodwill to justify some rather broad, and ultimately ill-advised, doctrinal expansions. These expansions seem sensible extensions of trademark principles from the point of view of goodwill appropriation because of the elasticity of the goodwill concept, which can extend to include brand, firm, and in its broadest form, inherent goodwill. In the end, understanding this history gives a useful perspective from which to evaluate the role of goodwill in trademark law today and to propose reforms that would eliminate its pernicious effects. Source: Berkeley Center for Law and Technology.

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Class, Race, and Higher Education in America

"Mass higher education in the United States, with universal access in many places, has many functions that it shares with similar institutions around the world. However, it has one function which is perhaps unique to us: it is the central instrument for the legitimation of a society around the principle of broad (and in principle, equal), opportunities open to all individuals, opportunities to improve themselves and to make their careers and lives through their own efforts and talents. Our 3,500 accredited colleges and universities, offering course work at every level of standard and difficulty to an enormously diverse student body, serve a wide variety of functions for the students and for the society at large. While most of them offer some liberal and general studies, they serve as the chief avenue of entry to middle class occupations--even to quite modest lower-middle class occupations, which in most countries would not require or reward exposure to post-secondary education. These institutions, without the kinds of educational ceilings common in European non-university forms of post-secondary schooling, encourage students to raise their aspirations through further study, full or parttime, and provide the possibility of transfer to advanced studies elsewhere if they do not have such provisions themselves. They thus reflect and reinforce the radical individualism of American values, a set of values deeply opposed to socialist principles which center on cooperative efforts at group advancement, and on the common effort to create a society whose members all profit (more or less equally) from the common effort. American higher education, as a system, both serves and celebrates the American Dream of individual careers open to talents, a dream given much of its institutional reality in the contemporary world precisely by America's system of mass higher education offering a clear alternative to socialist principles of class identification and horizontal loyalty." Source: Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley.

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