(1972). The Interaction of Cognition and Affect: The Issue of Free Trade. In determining whether an increase in student cognitions in the content area of international trade is correlated with an attitudinal change toward policy issues surrounding that subject, a microeconomics principles class at Riverside City College was used to test the hypothesis that a change in the cognitive component will cause a change in the affective component. Prior to and following instruction on foreign trade, the class was given a cognitive meaning device to test student knowledge of the subject and an attitudinal survey related to free trade and tariffs. Three control groups were used: an introductory college psychology class given no instruction on foreign trade but given the pre- post-tests, a small subset of the experimental group measured by post-test only (to control for "sensitizing" as a result of the pre-test), and a class of graduate students in economics (to check on the hypothesis that an increase in knowledge about foreign trade should result in an… [PDF]
(1984). Legislative Report of the ALA Washington Office, January-June 1984. Nationwide interest in restoring excellence to education continued into 1984, but made no dent in the Reagan administration's determination to eliminate federal library programs. Congress is again resisting this third year of zero budgets, despite efforts to contain soaring federal deficits. Few issues pending in this second session of the 98th Congress have been resolved. Library Services and Construction Act reauthorization appears likely to make it through the process, but efforts in the House to get a head start on Higher Education Act reauthorization have been dropped. Measures to provide a mass book deacidification facility for the Library of Congress, extend the Medical Library Assistance Act, and give independence to the National Archives are pending. There are continuing efforts to restrict, directly or indirectly, access to government information through administration policy in such areas as contracting out of federal activities, federal information management, lobbying…
(1976). Rural-Urban Migration in Sierra Leone: Determinants and Policy Implications. African Rural Economy Paper No. 13. Study objectives were to: increase the understanding of rural to urban migration processes in Africa and Sierra Leone; develop and test a theoretical schema and survey methodology for migration research; and evaluate the effects of policy on migration. The migration survey was conducted in rural areas, urban areas, and again in the rural areas during 1974-75; the survey featured: rural and urban data collection (socioeconomic and attitude variables); tracing migrants (N=800) from specific locations; integration of migration and farm (500 households) surveys; complete coverage of urban migration streams; simultaneous analysis of rural to rural and rural to urban migration; and multidisciplinary research on migration. Findings indicated: major rural to urban migrants were the young and educated who had high expectations, came from higher income families in the southern regions, migrated to Kono or Freetown, maintained close contact with place of origination, and had urban relatives or…
(2000). Economics. Teacher's Guide [and Student Guide]. Parallel Alternative Strategies for Students (PASS). This teacher's guide and student guide unit contains supplemental readings, activities, and methods adapted for secondary students who have disabilities and other students with diverse learning needs. The curriculum correlates to Florida's Sunshine State Standards and is divided into the following six units of study: (1) introduction to economics, which addresses opportunity cost, supply and demand, different types of resources, entrepreneurship, property, and economic rent; (2) economic systems, which addresses the market system, command economic system, government controlled command economy, mixed economics, and measuring government control of the economy; (3) supply and demand, which addresses elastic and inelastic demand, fair market price, and profit; (4) economic institutions, which addresses types of business competition, business organizations, the role of banking institutions, and government regulation of the money supply; (5) taxes; and (6) an examination of the American… [PDF]
(1995). Global Visions. Teaching Suggestions and Activity Masters for Unit 1: The Global Marketplace. This is a classroom-ready program about the U.S. economy's number one challenge: globalization. Few historical forces have more power to shape students' lives than globalization, the gradual economic integration of all the world's nations. This program is designed to supplement social studies courses in economics, government, U.S. and world history, world cultures, and geography. The unit contains a newsletter for students in grades 9-12, four reproducible activity masters included in a four-page teacher's guide, and a full-color map, "The Global Marketplace," presented as a full-sized wall poster. The learning objectives are: (1) to define the word 'globalization' as it relates both to the merging of the world's economies and to shifts in the way U.S. corporations operate; (2) to explain why globalization requires workers at all levels to have more flexibility, more skills, and more knowledge; (3) to list two advantages of globalization for consumers; (4) to describe at… [PDF]
(1989). International Agricultural Trade and Policy: Issues and Implications for U.S. Agriculture. Texas Agricultural Market Research Center Special Series Report No. SS-2-89. Historical events have set the stage for the current U.S. agricultural export performance. Agricultural exports in the early 1990s were as large or larger relative to the size of the agricultural sector than at any time since. A dramatic decrease in net farm income was caused by the Great Depression (1929-1932). Following passage of the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act and the wave of protectionism it set off around the world, U.S. agricultural exports remained small until the early 1970s, when devaluation of the U.S. dollar and a surge in world demand for agricultural commodities returned agricultural exports to their predepression level. U.S. agriculture is now inextricably linked to world markets. Five issues and developing trends in world agricultural markets have the potential to shift current world patterns of agricultural trade: (1) the current round of multilateral trade negotiations; (2) higher value product trade trends; (3) the scheduled 1992 economic integration of the European…
(2002). Accounting for Poverty in Infrastructure Reform: Learning from Latin America's Experience. WBI Development Studies. This book explores the connections between infrastructure reform and poverty alleviation in Latin America based on a detailed analysis of the effects of a decade of reforms. The book demonstrates that because the access to, and affordability of, basic services is still a major problem, infrastructure investment will be a core component of poverty alleviation programs in the region. It shows that although affordability of service tariffs is often an issue, in many instances, access is a much more important concern in meeting the infrastructure needs of the poor; thus, infrastructure provision is a key poverty-reduction tool. The book's main goal is to provide practical guidelines and methods to help policy makers, reformers, and regulators develop diagnostics to assess infrastructure needs and to ensure that strategies to address them are as cost effective as possible. Special emphasis is placed on data collection and explanations of some of the quantitative methodologies that can…
(1983). Transborder Flow of Computerized Information: Controls and Restrictions. Of major concern to United States position and policy in the telecommunications and information areas is "transborder data flow," the transferring of computer stored data between nations. Many European nations, including France, Austria, and West Germany, have enacted laws regulating the flow of information leaving the country where it would disrupt privacy. The bulk of automated data bases are located in the United States, which completely controls or manipulates most data exchanges between the U.S. and its partners. The U.S. is concerned that these protection laws, particularly those extended to "legal" persons such as corporations and institutions, will disrupt commerce and put American remote data processing at a disadvantage. Privacy protection for a country's citizens thus doubles as protection for its domestic computer industries. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, representing 24 industrialized countries, has drafted guidelines for…
(1988). The Use of Satellites for Training in Western Europe. This paper begins with brief background on types of broadcast satellites and satellite programs in Europe. Reception and transmission costs, as well as predicted access to satellite transmissions, are then discussed. Uses of satellites for education and training in countries outside of Europe, particularly the program at the National Technological University in the United States, are summarized. Distinctions are drawn between the various media (television, audio, or data) and configurations (point-to-multipoint or network) used. Descriptions of initiatives underway for the use of satellites for training in Western Europe–PACE, OLYMPUS, COMMETT, and DELTA–are presented. The extension of training beyond national boundaries and establishment of a training communications network are identified as ways satellites could be used. Low cost, easy production, speed, European-wide reach, open access to transmission, security, and funding opportunities are listed as benefits of using… [PDF]
(1978). Economic Evaluation of New Technologies in Higher Education. N.I.E. Report Phase 1, Volume 6 of 7. Part of a series of instructional packages for use in college level economics courses, the document contains nine microeconomics chapters. Chapter I, \Economic Concepts, Issues, and Tools,\ discusses scarcity and choice; preferences, resources, exchange, and economic efficiency; marginal analysis and opportunity cost; and different economic systems. Chapters II and III focus on the concept, influences, assumptions and implications of demand and supply, respectively. Individual and market demand, firm supply in the short run and firm and industry supply in the long run are also discussed. Chapter IV presents the market in terms of concept and operation, changes in market equilibrium, and intervention and dynamic adjustments. Chapter V considers marginal equivalency conditions and economic efficiency. Resource allocation, profit maximizing behavior, and the principles of Adam Smith are presented. Chapter VI describes the organization of industries in terms of perfect and imperfect…
(1984). Telecommunication Services for the Transfer of Information and Data: A Case Study in Indonesia. This study on the use of telecommunications to improve access to the specialized information needed for development was conducted by a national team and carried out through a series of meetings in Jakarta and Bandung. Persons contacted included Indonesian officials responsible for national development in information and telecommunications, actual and potential major users of data communications, and officials of two regional organizations. A general discussion of the Indonesian situation is followed by a review of current data communication technology, including computer networks, data networks, and ISDN (integrated services digital networks); packet switched data networks; satellite communication; the SATNET experiment; and tele-informatics services. The existing Indonesian telecommunications network is described as well as the development of national telecommunications services, PACKSATNET, and international facilities and regional cooperation. Specialized, organizational, and…
(1993). U.S. Trade Policy: Competing in a Global Economy. Choices for the 21st Century. Alternatives for Public Debate and Policy Development. This document contains a student text, teacher outline, and lesson plan that places beliefs and values at the center of the national discussion on trade policy. The focus of the unit is particularly relevant with the emergence of U.S. trade policy as a vital public issue. In 1993, two key elements of U.S. trade policy–the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) wil occupy a prominent position on the national agenda. This course can provide students with the tools to express their views on these important topics. At the core of the unit is a framework of three options for U.S. trade policy. By exploring a wide ranging spectrum of alternatives, students gain a deeper understanding of the values underlying specific policy recommendations. The background readings are intended to introduce students to the terms and concepts essential to a basic understanding of international trade. Part 1 uses the history of television…
(1993). Economic Education Experiences of Enterprising Teachers. Volume 30. This book describes award-winning teacher-developed projects and courses in economics. The reports are condensed versions of the original projects and are divided into grade levels. Primary Level includes: \Peanut Economics\ (Janet Lancaster; Dena L. Meade); \Consumer Education Circus\ (Pearl Eloshway; Linda McGeehan); \Critter Cards\ (Joyce G. Beattie; Sue Hatton; Pamela Clark); \Harrisonburg Moneyopoly\ (Barbara Borntrager). Intermediate Level includes: \Look, Mom! I'm a Million Dollar Student!\ (Patricia T. McMillion); \Economics from the Cradle\ (Linda K. Parker; Patti L. Reynolds); \Card Connection: A Business for Children\ (Roberta E. Maselow); \Cookonomics: Catering with 'Class'\ (Greta Howell). Junior High Level includes: \Once Upon a Wall Street Dreary, Economics Made Me Cheery\ (Sheryl Szot Gallaher); \The Economics of Clean Air: Clean Air for Sale\ (John R. Joachim); \Mind Your Own Business: Economics and Entrepreneurship\ (Glenda H. Wills); \The United States Gets a New…
(1999). Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World. Teaching with Historic Places. This lesson provides a case study about a U.S. immigrant community of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and offers a contrast to the typical textbook coverage which emphasizes immigration from eastern and southern Europe to the big cities of the northern United States. The lesson focuses on Ybor City (now part of Tampa, Florida); it was a multi-ethnic, multi-racial industrial community in the Deep South, a section that traditionally had little industry and few immigrants. Explaining that the popularity of Cuban cigars in the United States combined with a high tariff on cigar imports led some Cuban cigar factory owners to move their factories to Florida and other parts of the United States, the lesson delineates the community of Ybor City with its Cuban immigrant life during the 1890s. Spaniards, Italians, Germans, and Romanian Jews also worked in the industry. The lesson is divided into the following sections which include maps, readings, photographs, and activities: (1)… [PDF]
(1993). The North American Free Trade Agreement. Headline Series No. 299. This document discusses the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a debate over the wisdom of opening the southern United States border to the free flow of goods and services between the United States and Mexico. The book is divided into six chapters. The first is a basic introduction to the development of the idea of a free trade agreement among the nations of North America, and the work of Mexican President Salinas to turn his country around economically. The second chapter discusses the mechanics of U.S. foreign policy formulation including the concept of fast-track that empowers presidential representatives to forge a trade deal with one or more foreign governments. Congress must then accept or reject the accord as a package; no changes are allowed. This section describes President Bush's actions in announcing NAFTA and an action plan keyed to the concerns of labor and environmental groups, especially a memorandum of understanding on worker health and safety between the…