An assessment of Australia's housing industry determined the level of management skills currently existing in the industry, identified current and future management skills required for the industry, and evaluated current management skill development strategies. Data were collected from the following activities: review of recent literature; study of 4 housing companies that were selected to illustrate management training practice; interviews with 22 industry representatives; 6 focus group meetings of approximately 10 people each; and consultation with key industry stakeholders and educational providers. Small builders were generally unaware of the value of undertaking management training. Medium- to large-size builders were most likely to value financial and other management skills. Management skills were usually learned informally. Fourteen management skills in four broad areas (managing operations, finance, people, and information) were deemed critical to the industry's future. It was recommended that formal training in entry-level management skills be expanded, small builders' and subcontractors' access to continuing training in management skills be increased significantly, and distance learning programs covering the management skills identified in the study be developed. (Appended are the interview schedule and lists of the interview and focus group participants. The bibliography contains 17 references.) (MN)
Today children who are not fluent in English—legal and illegal immigrants, refugees, and native born—are the fastest growing portion of our population, accounting for more than half the children in classrooms in many city schools. Bilingual education programs established by federal and state laws have required that such students be taught basic subjects in their native languages rather than in English. Judged by most applicable measures—such as achievement scores and dropout rates—these programs have not been successful. This edition includes new material on recent efforts to reform bilingual education, on the growing trend across the country toward English language programs, on the latest national research studies, and on the movement to make English the official language of the United States. Forked Tongue is a devastating inside account of how the twenty-eight-year experiment in bilingual education has failed our language-minority children—and why. Rosalie Porter draws on local, state, and international experience to provide us with the first authoritative account of which policies, programs, and practices actually succeed with the children they are intended to serve. Forked Tongue will be of interest to educators, sociologists, and scholars interested in second language acquisition.
Marijuana legalization is a controversial and multifaceted issue that is now the subject of serious debate. In May 2014, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill requiring the Secretary of Administration to produce a report about various consequences of legalizing marijuana. This resulting report provides a foundation for thinking about the various consequences of different policy options while being explicit about the uncertainties involved.
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