The Public Relations Division of the proceedings contains the following 15 papers: "Virtual Issues in Traditional Texts: How Introductory Public Relations Textbooks Address Internet Technology Issues" (Lois A. Boynton and Cassandra Imfeld Gajkowski); "Crisis Public Relations: A Study of Leadership, Culture, Demand and Delivery"…

A follow-up study of children who began school at age 4 was conducted to examine the influence of three different preschool models (child-initiated, academically-directed, or a "combination" approach) on later school success. These children from an urban school district were studied again in Year 5 as they prepared to leave the primary…

Decreased civic and political participation is a pressing problem in the United States. Today, Americans are less likely to vote, work for a party or candidate, attend a meeting, or belong to a social or community organization than they were 40 years ago. A study used the Community Indicators Survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,206…

The purpose of this study was threefold. It attempted to develop an attitude scale to measure prejudice in elementary school-aged children. It then compared these children's self perceptions with the perceptions of members of other race-sex groups using the Scale of Children's Attitudes toward Race and Gender. In addition, it investigated…

The Working Poor Project is a joint activity of the Chicago Urban League, the Latino Institute, and Northern Illinois University. Its purpose is to study the nature, extent, and impact of working poverty in seven counties in the Chicago (Illinois) metropolitan area. Phase I of this project developed a statistical profile of the area's working poor…

Mexican women tend to have limited access to medical and mental health care resources. Some of the common clinical issues experienced by Mexican woman are psychological conflict, depression, anxiety, and psychosomatic symptoms. Appropriate treatment approaches for therapy varies depending on the nature of the presenting problem. If clinical issues…

This document, the eighth edition of the "Mini-Digest of Education Statistics," provides a pocket-sized compilation of statistical information about U.S. education from kindergarten through graduate school. The statistical highlights provide a quantitative description of the current U.S. education scene. Data are from many government…

This series of four fact sheets addresses the health and human service needs of Asian American children living in New York City. The first fact sheet, "Snapshots of New York City: An Overview of Asian American Families," discusses the diversity of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population in New York, examining AAPI…

The 11 chapters in this text address issues concerned with identification and educational intervention with gifted students who are from culturally diverse backgrounds. Chapters have the following titles and authors: (1) "The Culturally and Linguistically Diverse School Population in the United States" (Angela Reyes-Carrasquillo); (2) "Culturally…

The eighth in a series of studies investigating the educational context and outcomes for high school students with disabilities (SWDs), this study examined parents' perceptions of the educational program of their children with disabilities. Ten parents of students with disabilities participated in focus groups and provided their ideas and opinions…

This handbook provides a guide to assist African American parents of children with learning disabilities to become advocates for their children and raise awareness about learning differences. An introductory section notes the disproportionate risk of African American boys for being labeled mentally retarded and placed in special education. The…

Economic liberalization and the rise of global competition have increased the importance of agricultural, technical, and business skills for small farmers in Brazil. However, many rural farmers are unable to attend agricultural technical schools due to low educational attainment. The first section of this paper discusses the impact that…

Three broad categories were identified among 340 occupations at the four-digit level of the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations: positively/opportunistically engaged in the global economy (conceptual/creative, conceptual/technical); vulnerable (manufacturing, white-collar clerical, blue-collar operative, manual low skill); and…

This paper describes approaches to literacy in Canadian aboriginal communities. It provides statistical data on education, employment, income, culture, language, and social issues among Canadian aboriginal people, comparing aboriginal people on and off the reserve. The statistics demonstrate issues that aboriginal literacy learners bring with them…

As noted in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD's) "PISA 2000 Technical Report" (OECD, 2002), the Austrian sample for the PISA 2000 assessment did not adequately cover students enrolled in combined school and work-based vocational programmes as required by the OECD's technical standards for PISA. The…