The current recession in the Czech Republic is driven by aggregate demand, unsustainable growth of wages, weak enforcement of the legal system, non-operational bankruptcy law, and poor corporate governance. The wage dispersion has been growing continuously, and wage setting has become increasingly more responsive to market forces. Education has…

During the years 1989-1997 in Estonia, employment has decreased; unemployment and inactivity have increased. Females have tended to move to inactivity while males have become unemployed. The wage patterns are very flat relative to those in market economies. Estonia has opted for very low levels of unemployment benefits, pensions, and a low minimum…

Most deficiencies of the Hungarian labor market emerge from a combination of the transition crisis and special features of the economy or transition process. The most crucial labor market problem is low employment. Negative impacts are high taxation and social security contributions; reduced investment, job creation, and economic growth; and…

Transition to a market economy in Lithuania has changed the labor market significantly. The employment rate has decreased in all age groups and resulted in increased productivity of labor. Employment in the private sector and self employment have increased considerably. The share of those employed in agriculture has increased. The worst employment…

Romania's adoption of a more gradual approach in restructuring and privatizing the state-owned sector has resulted in industry with an unchanged structure that remains the main cause of social and economic decline. Employment has shown a steady decline. Industrial employment has decreased dramatically. Sectors like transport, hotels, and…

Aimed at helping the most vulnerable young adolescents, this book attempts to provide tools and techniques for practitioners working with youth at risk for academic, behavioral, and emotional difficulties resulting from such factors as difficult family situations, learning problems, or socioeconomic disadvantage. The SPARK curriculum combines a…

Past rural policies are reviewed, noting the effects of globalization and information technology. Rural business profits can be maximized by direct cost or value-added competition, but cost competition limits the development of productive capacity and leads to unequal income distribution. In contrast, value-added competition could create steep…

The Northeast Conference on Rural HIV Service Delivery was attended by 51 health and social service professionals, people with HIV, and federal and state health officials with expertise or interest in developing HIV care capacity in rural areas. Low population density, low prevalence of HIV/AIDS, rugged topography and climate, and limited health…

This study examined the role played by emotional intelligence on occupational success, seeking to correlate college grades with measures of emotional intelligence. The study, conducted at a Canadian community college, involved two student populations: an adult education group and a group of automotive service technicians in a pre-employment…

This report examines needs for notetaking services by deaf or hard of hearing students at the postsecondary level and ways of providing these services. It discusses training, supervision, the responsibilities of those involved in provision of notetaking services, and policies and procedures for providing useful and efficient notetaking services.…

This paper describes the Sophomore Multicultural Internship for preservice teachers at Moorhead State University, Minnesota. From 1990-95, the program immersed preservice teachers in cross-cultural encounters and K-12 clinical experiences intended to: engender enlightened tolerance; provide an embedded context for making moral choices to pursue…

This document describes a case study of seven community colleges that used curriculum and pedagogy to integrate academic and occupational education. Integration is accomplished by linking or clustering courses, infusing academic instruction into occupational education or vice versa, or adding components such as authentic assessment, career…

This overview on potential funding sources describes three major federal programs that can provide a financing base for public job creation initiatives serving hard-to-employ welfare recipients and non-custodial parents. Section I is an introduction. Section II focuses on the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant. Section III…

This symposium on transfer of learning consists of four presentations. "The Influence of the Implementation of a Transfer Management Intervention on Transfer of Training" (Patricia R. Saylor, Marijke T. Kehrhahn) reports a study that evaluated effectiveness of transfer management interventions provided by a change facilitator in…

This study investigated the effects of a video-based training program on the quantity and quality of family involvement in special education, perceptions of both family members and educators concerning parental competence as team members, and family members' satisfaction with their own involvement, team processes, and decisions made by the team.…