Monthly Archives: November 2005

Discrepancies in Testing

Students Ace State Tests, but Earn D’s From U.S. – New York Times A comparison of state test results against the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal test mandated by the No Child Left Behind law, shows that … Continue reading

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The American Dream and varieties of national self-esteem

Replant the American Dream When I lived abroad, Thanksgiving was always my favorite holiday. It was a chance to scrounge up a turkey, gather foreign and American friends, and celebrate what America represented to the world. I liked to give … Continue reading

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They Held Their Noses, and Ate – New York Times

They Held Their Noses, and Ate – New York Times Proper notions of English husbandry generally demanded that flesh be domesticated, grain neatly planted and fruit and vegetables cultivated in gardens and orchards. Given these expectations, English migrants recoiled upon … Continue reading

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Turning academia into a cafeteria – Los Angeles Times

Turning academia into a cafeteria – Los Angeles Times DECADES AGO, I clutched an official New York state examination booklet as a proctor threatened me and hundreds of my nervous schoolmates with a felony conviction if we cheated. We dutifully … Continue reading

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On some mental representations of personal identity

Who would have thought that a simple misspelling of a person’s name would cost me so much time. But it did happen and it was an entirely my fault. A friend whose name is pronounced by all and sundry Maia … Continue reading

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Values, rules, patterns and theories of social causation

BBC NEWS | Politics | ‘A third of pubs’ to open longer About one-third of all the pubs, clubs and shops in England and Wales licensed to sell alcohol are to get longer opening hours, BBC research suggests. Now, this … Continue reading

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Marx’s and Darwin’s accomplishments: Finding the mechanism of evolution and social change?

Here’s definitely a podcast worth listening to! Niles Eldredge and Edward J. Larson discuss the upcoming Darwin exhibit and Darwin’s legacy. Particularly their discussion of Darwin’s contribution of the mechanism of ‘natural selection’ to an existing idea of ‘evolution’ is … Continue reading

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Thatcher’s role for women and the influence of women in politics on women’s rights

BBC NEWS | Politics | Thatcher’s role for women Patricia Hewitt, a minister Tony Blair’s Cabinet, told the BBC News website: "Margaret Thatcher broke through the glass ceiling in politics. But it is a tragedy that, having become the UK’s … Continue reading

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Socio-economic trends in interaction

BBC NEWS | In Depth | The Thatcher years in statistics It is 15 years since Margaret Thatcher resigned as prime minister. Use this graphical guide to see how life in Britain changed during her time in power. A great … Continue reading

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Ad-hoc metaphors as cohesive devices

Bring Democracy to Congress Perhaps we should redeploy the democracy experts we have sent to the Middle East and ask them to work on our Congress. The past few days have confirmed that our national government is dysfunctional. … Which … Continue reading

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