Student achievement in charter schools: A complex picture

Since the inception of charter schools over a decade ago, policymakers have wanted to know how charter schools are performing. This is difficult to answer because there is no single charter school approach to educating students. By design, charter schools have innovative and distinctive education philosophies. In this research, we capture some of the uniqueness of charter schools by clustering them into four major categories: charter schools that convert from conventional public schools, charter schools that start from scratch, charter schools that rely primarily on classroom‐based instruction, and charter schools that have a significant portion of instruction outside of the classroom. Based on these four distinctions, we find significant differences in performance. These differences suggest that policymakers may want to focus greater resources on certain types of charter schools versus others. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Context, Conversation and Conviction: Social Networks and Voting at the 1992 British General Election

After some initial interest, analyses of contextual effects in British voting behaviour have tended to downplay or ignore the role of face to face conversations between electors. However, evidence from the 1992 British Election Study shows that conversations with partisan discussants do act as a statistically significant influence on voting. Those who discuss politics with supporters of a particular party are more likely to switch their votes to that party, if they had not previously voted for it, and less likely to switch to other parties. Conversations with family members are particularly important, though talking to other discussants also plays a part.     

The relationship of imagery and mental practice to learning law enforcement skills

Visualization and mental rehearsal/ practice have beem empirically evaluated in the athletic area for many years and found to be viable forms of performance enhancement. Gross motor skills and certain psychological/physiological dysfunctions are also susceptible to improvement through use of these techniques. A general overview of these concepts is presented as well as potential applications in the law enforcement context.     

Acceptance and completion of treatment among sex offenders

A sample of 778 male sex offenders, assessed from the 1960s to the 2000s, was examined on expressed desire for treatment, treatment attendance, and completion of at least one course of therapy. A variety of treatment approaches was used, reflecting practices of the times. Overall, 50.6% expressed a desire for treatment, 42.0% attended, and 13.6% completed therapy. Offenders' admitter status, criminal history, age, education, and marital status all played some role in desire for treatment, attendance, and completion. Analysis revealed that the desire for and completing treatment has declined over time. Offenders who were exhibitionists or substance abusers or who scored higher on psychopathy, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or learning difficulties or had head injuries were more likely to enter treatment but were no more likely to complete it than were offenders who scored low. The need to focus on motivating different types of sex offenders to accept and participate in treatment is discussed.     

Working to Prevent Conflict In the New Nation of Macedonia

Despite appalling ethnic violence elsewhere in former Yugoslavia, Macedonia has stayed relatively peaceful, thus providing a model of successful conflict prevention. The authors, whose organization leads a nongovernmental consortium to help defuse ethnic tensions in Macedonia, believe violence has been largely avoided because Macedonian leaders have demonstrated sufficient political will and because the international community has applied an appropriate mix of diplomatic, economic, military, psychological, and conflict resolution measures.