My only experience with politics took place several years ago, when I helped write some campaign literature for my son, a novice politician who was running for the state legislature against a popular incumbent. It wasn't much of a race; my son lost the election by a huge margin. But what impressed me was the civility of the campaign. In their…

Describes electronic discussion groups and offers tips for those new to using Listservs and Usenet News. (SR)

Discusses the development and description of a comprehensive framework to explain small group behavior labeled the Matrix Model. Argues that a synthesis of knowledge from the adaptive, developmental, structural, transactional, and gestalt points of view will provide a more meaningful and useful understanding of small groups. (LLL)

Presents a model of three types of learning groups, i.e., leader-centered, content-centered, and group-member-centered. Describes the characteristics and uses of each type. (RC)

Describes an exercise designed to help individuals and couples explore their attitudes toward extramarital relations, and analyze its causes and consequences. Presents several potential issues which typically develop. Provides guidelines for using the exercise. (RC)

The author traces the educational activities of adults in colonial America back to their British counterparts. (CH)

The author provides background on the junto and defines its role as a voluntary discussion group attempting to solve problems. She describes recent uses of the junto at conferences and provides guidelines for planning a typical group. (CH)

Discusses a model for training supervisors, helpers and other leaders of small group discussions with a specific goal. Describes the model's five stages: (1) trainer models leader behavior, (2) subgroup members practice leading, (3) subgroup's behavior processed, (4) critiques leader's behavior, and (5) total group shares observations and…

The autumn conference of the Vermont Council on the Humanities focused on discussions about Allan Bloom's book, "The Closing of the American Mind," and his call for Americans to return to fundamental questions of the nature of man and society. The Council also runs book discussion groups in local libraries. (MLW)

In 1991, the Task Force on Cooperative Education undertook a study regarding improvement of the cooperative education (CE) system in the United States. The first stage of the project entailed a mail survey of approximately 1,300 selected cooperative and professional educators, cooperative employees, and university state councils to determine…