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Search the Abstracts by Subject HeadingsSubject headings are organized under the broad areas of the foundation's interest. COMMUNITY POLITICS AND LEADERSHIP INSTITUTIONS, PROFESSIONS AND THE PUBLIC PUBLIC GOVERNMENT RELATIONSHIP
CITIZENS AND PUBLIC CHOICE PROGRAM AREA VOLUNTEERISM.Explores the importance and implications of volunteers for social service delivery. Discusses the rise of self-help groups as alternatives to the professional and governmental services that are most often used to meet social needs. Also includes more general discussions of what Tocqueville calls "voluntary associations": organizations which promote participation on the local level. Related writings in "Social Policy" also discuss provision of social services through privatization. MEDIATION and COLLABORATION. Examines methods of collaborative problem-solving in a variety of settings, including site-specific, small group mediation and community-wide policy issue discussions. Group dynamics, organizational theory, and negotiation theory provide a basis for these discussions. Relates to some of the material in "International Relations/Supplemental Diplomacy" on mediating in diplomatic situations; discussions of communication between individuals in "Communication Theory"; and suggestions for strengthening communities in "Community Building/Organizing." COMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION. Discusses the ways that community adult education programs - extension services, study circles, and continuing education programs -can educate adults about particular issues and about the functioning of the political system as a whole. Also examines adult education programs which can empower individuals within communities and thereby improve the problem solving skills of the community. Special focus on the educational role of community institutions such as churches, libraries, and museums. Related articles in "Community Building/Organizing" focus on strengthening community systems of learning and problem-solving, rather than individual education. LEARNING THEORIES. Refers to the ways adults learn, both individually and collectively. Includes models of public learning, adult education, and public decision-making which contribute to an understanding of judgment. Closely related pieces in "Communication Theory" examine interactive learning theories, as do those in "Mediation/Collaboration." TECHNOLOGY and DEMOCRACY. Examines the implications of new technologies, such as telecommunications and interactive television, for democratic practices. Includes analyses of the way in which the form of modern media, particularly television, can affect popular perceptions and political behavior. Related abstracts located in "Communication Theory" and "American Popular Attitudes." COMMUNICATION THEORY. Focuses on the importance of public discourse, by examining the fields of rhetoric and speech communication. Discussions of how individuals conduct dialogues and groups interact and communicate. Closely related discussions on strategic communication in "Mediation and Collaboration"; media communication in "Technology and Democracy"; and representative communication in "Citizen/Policymaker Communication."
COMMUNITY POLITICS AND LEADERSHIP PROGRAM AREA COMMUNITY BUILDING/ORGANIZING. Examines community organizing and grass roots activism taking place at the local level. Focuses on practices and resource use for strengthening community systems of learning and problem-solving. For discussion of the possible benefits and drawbacks of increased citizen participation, see "Democratic/Participatory Theory"; for closely related discussions of adult policy and citizenship education through local institutions, see "Community-Based Education." LEADERSHIP. Defines leadership in terms of goals, tasks, and skills needed and discusses qualities of an effective leader. Offers suggestions for effective methods of leadership and for the development of leadership in others, particularly young people. Dispels myths about leadership and discusses attitudes towards it. Examines the moral aspects of leadership and the need for accountability. Considers the relationship between leadership and power, exploring how leaders can be more responsive to the public. Examines the role of leaders in renewing society and, likewise, the need for leaders to renew themselves. Related discussions of business leadership are found in "Business and Society."
PUBLIC AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROGRAM AREA EDUCATION: HISTORY and PHILOSOPHY. Considers the general historical and philosophical underpinnings of education. Includes literature on the growth of the distinction between public and private schooling; public education's role in fostering democracy; and the interplay between youth, the family, and educational institutions. Includes histories of educational movements, such as adult education, and of institutions, such as the Highlander Folk School. See also "American History" and "Democratic/Participatory Theory." EDUCATION: POLICY and REFORM. Centers around issues raised by A Nation at Risk type studies and other contemporary educational reform proposals such as merit pay; back-to-basics; school-based management; local control; and increased privatization of education. Includes discussion of nationally based education policies, as well as more local instances of citizen task forces and the role of citizens in school improvement. For more literature on citizen involvement, see 'School-Community Partnerships"; for historical accounts of education reform, see "Education: History and Philosophy." SCHOOL-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS. Contains examples of experiments with, and models of school/community partnerships. These partnerships involve coalition building for education, as well as engendering cooperation between the school and parents, the school and other community institutions, and the school and business. Topic emphasizes relationship to the community, while related items in "Education: Policy and Reform" emphasize policy demands of the community. INSTITUTIONS, PROFESSIONS AND THE PUBLIC PROGRAM AREA CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION/LIBERAL ARTS. Focuses on the role of educational institutions - from the elementary to the graduate level - in educating students for citizenship. Contains critiques of the increasingly specialized and vocational nature of education and arguments on behalf of renewed links between the study of the humanities and training for a specific career or profession. Explores the merits of educating about our "common culture" as a means of preparing youth for participation in the public sphere, inculcating values, engendering civic responsibility, and fostering leadership. Also discusses the role of the teacher in civic education. See also "Democratic/Participatory Theory." BUSINESS and SOCIETY. Examines the civic roles and responsibilities of business. Includes literature on corporate social responsibility, employee education and training, management theory, leadership, productivity, and issues management. Related literature on corporate support of public education can be found in "School-Community Partnerships" and "Community-Based Education." RELIGION and DEMOCRACY. Contains articles which examine the type of public citizens and public sphere that religion can help foster. Discusses similarities between tenets of Christianity and liberal democracy. For specific case studies and instances of religion promoting democracy, see "Church-Community Partnerships." CHURCH-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS. Focuses particularly on collaboration between churches and community, especially the Black community. Distinct from more theoretical accounts of the relationship between Christianity and popular government in "Religion and Democracy," and related discussions of the role of secular institutions in the community in "Community-Based Education." SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY and POLICY. Focuses on models of public participation in scientific and technical policy making. Includes material on science literacy, risk assessment, and the relationship between technocratic expertise and democratic forms of government. Also includes case studies of the dynamics of science policy making and assessments of science education programs. For discussions of the role of experts and the type of knowledge citizens can contribute to science-related policy, see "Citizen/Policymaker Communication."
PUBLIC GOVERNMENT RELATIONSHIP PROGRAM AREA CITIZEN/POLICYMAKER COMMUNICATION. Focuses on the perceived absence of trust and face-to-face communication between the policymaker and the citizen on the state and federal levels. Compares expert opinion and language with public opinion and language, and explores the type of information an informed electorate can bring to the policy making process. Includes some discussion of what intellectuals, experts, PACs, and other interest groups contribute to policy making, as well as accounts of how legislators interact with their constituencies. For discussion of the possible benefits and drawbacks of increased citizen participation, see "Democratic/Participatory Theory"; for historical accounts of the representative process see "American History." BUREAUCRACY/PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. Contains discussions of how the ideology and philosophy of the American liberal tradition relate to our increasingly bureaucratized society. Stresses the role the public administrator must take in making public institutions more reflective of communal values and responsive to citizen input and needs. Some literature on techniques of management and the role of advisory bodies in policy formulation. For discussions of grass-roots administration, see "Community Building/'Organizing," as well as related pieces in "Citizen/Policymaker Communication."
INTERNATIONAL AND THE CIVIL PROGRAM AREA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS/SUPPLEMENTAL DIPLOMACY. Looks at informal, nongovernmental policy exchanges, focusing on the objectives of such activities, on their theoretical basis, and on the development of more useful models for the practice of supplemental diplomacy. Examines the role of supplemental diplomacy in conflict resolution, with emphasis on its value in situations where official actors have reached an impasse. Includes discussion of the factors that affect the conduct of international relations, as well as on the complex environment in which they take place. Also contains literature on how pertinent fields in the social sciences might aid in better understanding cross-cultural interaction in general, and international dispute resolution in particular. See "Mediation and Collaboration" for information on group dynamics, negotiation theory, and collaborative problem-solving. U.S. FOREIGN POLICY FORMATION. Focuses on the factors that affect foreign policy making in the United States. Discusses the tension between the Executive and Legislative branches over which should bear primary responsibility for international relations and how this conflict is reflected in policy. Examines the policy making process, with emphasis on the context in which it takes place and the interplay of institutions and individuals. Looks into the forces that shape U.S. public opinion and the growing impact of public opinion on foreign policy formulation. Also discusses domestic political and economic trends as they relate to foreign policy. See also "Citizen/Policymaker Communication" for general information on the interaction between legislators and the public. For a more all-encompassing discussion of public opinion, see "American Popular Attitudes." U.S./SOVIET RELATIONS. Focuses on the problems, such as mutual distrust, incompatible world views, and conflicting global objectives, that have plagued past relations between these two countries. Discusses how future relations might be improved through more compromise, increased collaboration in addressing issues of mutual concern, and the enhancement of both official and nonofficial channels of communication. Raises the issue of political developments within the Soviet Union, paying special attention to the reforms implemented by Gorbachev and to implications of domestic attitudinal and institutional changes for Soviet foreign policy. See also "International Relations/Supplemental Diplomacy," for a more theoretical discussion of international relations. U.S./LATIN AMERICA RELATIONS. Discusses the historical factors that have led to problematic inter-American relations, e.g., unilateral U.S. intervention in the affairs of Latin American countries, disparities in political and economic influence, and mutual distrust and ignorance. Examines the consequences of such contemporary problems as the debt crisis, economic stagnation, drug trafficking, poverty, and political instability in Latin America for the hemisphere as a whole. Contains information on social, political, and economic trends within Latin American countries. Also includes policy advice and projections from such notables in the field as Sol Linowitz and Abraham Lowenthal. For more theoretical information on international relations, see "International Relations/Supplemental Diplomacy." U.S./CHINA RELATIONS. Contains information on the nature of politics in, and the domestic economic and social problems facing, China since the death of Mao Zedong. Also discusses the manner in which these two countries might successfully enter into a process of nonofficial policy dialogue.
AMERICAN HISTORY. Historical treatments of the liberal democratic tradition and its enemies in the United States. Includes works on the framing of the Constitution; early American town meetings; the role of public forums in the democratic process; European roots of American institutions; and racism and slavery in American society. For a more theoretical treatment of similar themes, see "Democratic/Participatory Theory." For discussions of recent trends and opinions in America, see "American Popular Attitudes." AMERICAN POPULAR ATTITUDES. Contains any broad survey of the opinions and character of contemporary America. Includes statistical, demographic, and marketing studies, as well as more anecdotal oral histories of American ideas and ideals. Also includes theoretical literature on focus groups, polling, and other methods of public opinion gathering. Related information in "Social Sciences" and "American History." DEMOCRATIC/PARTICIPATORY THEORY. Theoretical writings which explore the strengths, weaknesses, and contradictions of liberalism and democracy. Special emphasis on discussions of the state of public life and democracy today, especially works which advocate a rejuvenation of the public sphere through stronger democracy. Also includes general critiques of modernity and attacks on the alleged excesses of democracy, as well as discussions of the concept of political legitimacy. Includes discussions of factors that both encourage and discourage political participation; explores the possible benefits and drawbacks of increased citizen participation. For a more historical treatment of the American political tradition, see "American History." SOCIAL SCIENCES. Contains social science theory and recent work in the fields of sociology, anthropology, economics, and political science related to the practices of democracy and citizenship. Discusses research methods. Also includes work on the subject of social choice theory. SOCIAL POLICY. Includes sources pertaining to the role of the Welfare State, the Great Society, and social service delivery. Examines whether the government or the private sector best delivers services to the underprivileged, pointing to possible side effects of budget cuts during the Reagan era. Raises general issues of inequality and distribution of wealth in contemporary America. For more community-based solutions to problems of the poor, see "Community Building/organizing"; for policies specific to education, see "Education: Policy and Reform."
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