Rural community colleges have an often understated impact on the communities they serve, especially in regard to their role in developing the identity of individuals. The ability of the rural community college to influence individual identity development is often exasperated due to the challenges associated with rural American life. The role of…

As concern over rapidly rising college costs and tuition sticker prices have increased, a variety of research has been conducted to determine potential causes. Most of this research has focused on factors unique to higher education. In contrast, cost disease theory attempts to create a comparative context to explain cost increases in higher…

The role of unions in school governance is reviewed to note that labor operates in a larger context of principal-agent relationships. As agents for teachers, unions articulate the concerns that must be addressed if teachers are to be successfully enlisted in the struggle to reduce achievement gaps among at-risk students. Transcending industrial…

Like thousands of other people from around the country and around the world, this author was heartened and inspired by the tenacity, immediacy, and creativity of the pushback by Wisconsin's public-sector unions against Governor Scott Walker's efforts to limit their collective bargaining rights. And like many others who made the trek to Madison to…

The significance of traditional economies in indigenous communities goes beyond the economic realm--they are more than just livelihoods providing subsistence and sustenance to individuals or communities. The centrality of traditional economies to indigenous identity and culture has been noted by numerous scholars. However, today one can detect a…

Cognitive capitalism--sometimes referred to as "third capitalism," after mercantilism and industrial capitalism--is an increasingly significant theory, given its focus on the socio-economic changes caused by Internet and Web 2.0 technologies that have transformed the mode of production and the nature of labor. The theory of cognitive…

Much of what is written about colleges and universities ties rapidly rising tuition to dysfunctional behavior in the academy. Common targets of dysfunction include prestige games among universities, gold plated amenities, and bloated administration. This book offers a different view. To explain rising college cost, the authors place the higher…

In 2010, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association released the results of a national study of state level postsecondary student unit record (SUR) data systems in 44 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.). One section of the report, "Strong Foundations: The State of State Postsecondary Data Systems" (Garcia and L'Orange 2010),…

This publication is only available as a downloadable file. See who's giving and getting grants in your field. Strengthen your search for funds with the Foundation Center's digital edition of "Grants for Employment." This new "Grant Guide" reveals the scope of current foundation giving in the field. You'll find descriptions of 4,129 grants of…

This dissertation examines two related questions. First, it estimates the effect of growth in the demand for skilled and unskilled labor on rural household incomes and the rural wage structure. Second, it examines the effect of growth in household incomes and in labor market returns to education on household educational investment. The…

At first glance, public-sector labor unions are just one of many types of organizations that participate in the political process. However, these unions differ significantly from other interest groups made up of individual citizens or non-labor organizations. Because their members' interests are tied to government policy, these unions are more…

Statistics teaching should not be carried out in the same way for all kinds of university students. Instead, teaching statistics should take into account the different fields of study that students have chosen. For example, students of sciences or engineering have different interests and backgrounds compared to students of any social or juridical…

The composition of the U.S. workforce is changing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2014 workers who are aged 55 and older will comprise 21.2% of the labor force--compared to 15.6% in 2004 and 11.9% in 1994. More corporations are beginning to pay attention to this trend and have begun to assess the needs and potential of older…

Among the topics discussed in this hearing were: what constitutes green energy, how workers can best be provided the skills to thrive in green industries, and the future of America's energy and environmental policies. Statements were presented by: Honorable Patty Murray, a U.S. Senator from the State of Washington, opening statement; Honorable…

This report presents accounts based on first-hand interviews conducted by Han Dongfang, China's leading labor rights advocate, with workers across China. Han Dongfang was a leader of the Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation (BWAF), an independent labor group organized during the Tiananmen Square protests. Han today carries on the fight from Hong…