Federalism and Education Planning in the Federal Republic of Germany

In 1969 demands for greater rationality in education planninggave rise to new institutionalized forms of cooperation betweenthe federation and the Länder. Conflicts between the federaland Land governments, partisan conflicts, and financial conflictsoverlapped this cooperation. Despite the fact that the formalcapacity for dealing with conflicts had many shortcomings, ajoint general plan for education was issued in 1973 as a resultof favorable economic and political conditions. However, in1978 the federal government failed in its attempt to utilizethe dissatisfaction with the existing system of cooperationto extend its responsibilities for education. The deteriorationin economic and political conditions led to an end of effortsto formulate a general plan for education in 1982 and reducedthe scale of joint activities. Forms of educational cooperationbetween the federation and the Länder still exist, butthey no longer fulfill their original purpose. The centralizationof decisionmaking, which was originally expected, never cameinto being.     

Soviet discussion on enterprise incentives and methods of planning

For some years a discussion has been in progress among economists in the Soviet Union on methods of securing the active and positive participation of individual enterprises in a centrally planned economy. The main theme of discussion has been the problem: how to arrange the system of plan indices, prices, enterprise bonuses, etc. to encourage enterprise interest in higher plan assignments, introduction of new technology, and improvement of quality of output. On the following pages some excerpts from this debate are reproduced. However, since the problems discussed are now engaging also the Soviet political authorities, let us first quote a few sections from one of the many official statements made in this connection. The one we have chosen is from the report given by the Soviet Prime Minister N. S. Khrushchev at the CPSU Central Committee Plenary Meeting of November 19, 1962 (Pravda, November 20).     

Review Article: Modus vivendi versus public reason and liberal equality: three approaches to liberal democracy

Liberal democracy constitutes a particularly attractive political model with its emphasis on both popular sovereignty and individual liberty. Recently several new and innovative articulations of the liberal democratic ideal have been presented. This article reviews three of these recent theories and particularly their democratic credentials. The selection includes theories emphasizing modus vivendi, Rawlsian political liberalism and liberal equality. Taken together these theories show different ways to conceptualize democracy within liberal thought. I argue that ultimately all three approaches struggle with articulating a persuasive conception of democracy, but nevertheless these theories show that liberals do think seriously about the role of democracy in their theories.     

Simulating amnesia and memories of a mock crime

Abstract

Defendants often feign (i.e. simulate) dissociative amnesia for their crimes. The Symptom Validity Test (SVT) may be used to detect such feigning. Some studies have shown that feigning amnesia for a mock crime has memory-undermining effects. In this study, we wanted to replicate the memory-undermining effects of simulated amnesia. We also examined whether such effects would occur when participants’ memories were evaluated with a SVT. Thirty participants committed a mock crime and then simulated amnesia for it. During a follow-up test, participants were instructed to perform as well as they could on a free recall test and a SVT. Their memory performance was compared with that of a control group (n=30). Although only a minority of simulating participants (7%) was detected by our SVT, the memory-undermining effect of simulating amnesia appeared to be a robust phenomenon. That is, ex-simulators displayed poorer free recall, more commission errors, and lower SVT scores relative to memory performance of honestly responding controls. However, at follow-up testing the poor memory of ex-simulators did not take the form of a real amnesia (i.e. random performance on SVT).     

A Unified Theory of Value-Based Reasoning and U.S. Public Opinion

Public opinion research shows that American citizens utilize domain-specific political values to guide opinion formation in the key issue areas that comprise the American political agenda. One set of political values operates on economic welfare opinions, a different set of values applies to cultural issue positions, a third set shapes foreign policy preferences, and so on in other policy domains. Drawing on Shalom Schwartz’s theory of basic human values, this paper argues that two socially focused values—self-transcendence and conservation—guide opinion formation across all major policy domains. By contrast, the personally focused values of self-enhancement and openness-to-change should play a more limited role in preference formation. These hypotheses are tested using data from a novel 2011 national survey and the 2012 General Social Survey. The statistical results affirm expectations. We show that self-transcendence and conservation values predict scores on symbolic ideology, economic conservatism, racial conservatism, cultural conservatism, civil liberties, and foreign policy opinions. Self-enhancement and openness-to-change values play a modest role in shaping preferences.     

Repercussions of a Raid: Health and Education Outcomes of Children Entangled in Immigration Enforcement

Interior immigration enforcement in the U.S. has rapidly increased over the past two decades, including increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity and the revival of workplace raids under the Trump administration. We contribute to the body of research that aims to better understand the consequences of immigration enforcement for children in targeted communities, including on their education, health, and socioemotional well-being. We employ a mixed methods research design to investigate the effects of the sweeping April 2018 Morristown, Tennessee immigration raid on children's health and education outcomes. We utilize linked, longitudinal health and education data on children and a quasi-experimental design to analyze the effects of the raid on those residing in close proximity to the raid. Interview data from community members and organizations in the affected area aid in better understanding how the raid unfolded and the mechanisms through which a community trauma such as this might affect children both directly and indirectly. Our results indicate negative effects across multiple education and behavioral health outcomes for children of immigrants living in the area targeted by the raid, including a substantial spike in absences from school in the month of the raid and significant increases in exclusionary disciplinary actions and in diagnoses of substance use disorder, depression, self-harm, suicide attempts or ideation, and sexual abuse in the year following the raid.