Utilizing ECLS-K:2011 data, this study compares adopted and biological children to account for the role of heritable characteristics in explaining the relationship between family environments and children's cognitive skills. I find that cognitive skills do not differ across adopted and biological children after adjusting for the systematic differences between them. I also find that the relationship between family environment and children's cognitive skills does not differ across adopted and biological children. Taken together, these results suggest that the relationship between family environment and children's cognitive skills is not spurious.

This study represents an attempt to answer the question: How can educational administration contribute to the economic and social development plans in developing countries? Although major emphasis must be given to this question, some thought will be given to the educational problems and needs that face developing countries and the new techniques of educational administration which can be used to meet them. Moreover, in an attempt to apply the findings acquired the research will eventually focus on· Egypt, as one of the developing countries, to identify to what extent Egypt's educational administration addresses the needs of the economic and social development plans. Objectives of the Study The purpose of the study was fourfold as follows: 1. To investigate the role of educational administration in the economic and social development plans in developing countries. 2. To delineate the educational problems and needs of developing countries and to determine how educational administration can help to meet them. 3. To identify new trends and techniques in educational administration which may be helpful to the economic and social development plans in developing countries. 4. To develop a case study and some models which will provide direction to educational administrators who wish to contribute to Egypt's economic and social development plans.

Bibliography: pages 72-78. / Apart from its current application in the process of transformation of South Africa's education system, interestingly, the term rationalisation is absent from the international literature. The high level of impact that the economics of education has in the provision of education presupposes that, in the "Global Village", world trends and access to international financial markets to fund transformation in education will inform the national policy making process. In South Africa macro education policy is set by the National ministry. In this regard teacher I learner ratios and funding to the provinces have been set at the highest level of government. In terms of this, it is understandable that national imperatives will influence and in many cases determine provincial policy making and the implementation thereof. This study examines educator responses to the way in which the rationalisation of teacher numbers is being applied in the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). The investigation takes into cognisance the particular historical, political and social background of the Western Cape Province. In doing so this study recognises the influence that these factors have had on the way teachers view the rationalisation policies and, more importantly, their implementation. In the apartheid era education was organised, according to "race", into four different departments. Thus the Department of Education (DET) controlled "Black" education, the Cape Education Department (CED) controlled "White" education, the House of Representatives (HOR) controlled "Coloured" education and the House of Delegates (HOD) was responsible for "Indian" education. Since the number of HOD teachers in the WCED only constitutes 0,47% of the total [WCED, November 1995], they were not taken into consideration for this study. While there is a convergence of opinion by educators of the three ex departments on many issues regarding rationalisation there is also a noticeable divergence underpinned by historical difference in funding and human and physical resourcing. Conclusions drawn point to the fact that there is a general acceptance of the policy of the rationalisation of teacher numbers in the Western Cape. Yet, while this policy might promote equality of numbers, its merit as a means to assuage the demand for the equitable redressing of the injustices of the apartheid era remains questionable.

Bibliography: pages 87-99. / The aim of this study is to describe and critically analyse the experiences and challenges facing first-year principals in secondary schools in the Cape Town Metropolitan Area. The study focuses on the impact of change and reform on beginner principals, the problems that arise as a result; coping strategies of beginner principals and the support available to them. While the emphasis is on analysing the issues and drawing out implications, the study begins to identify those solutions and training needs which beginner principals see as useful. Many of these principals are products of the rationalisation measures of 1992/3, and the restructuring of education. This process has included the emergence of elements of School-Based Management, which follows on the history of state-aided schools in South Africa, such as the Model C schools. These elements are reconfigured in the recommendations of the Hunter Commission and the policy of the White Paper on the Organisation, Governance and Funding of Schools (February 1996). This has led to an increase in the number of beginner principals in the Cape Town metropolitan area, especially in the former House of Representative schools.

Bibliography: pages 84-88. / This study focuses on the nature and degree of articulation between Technikon education and labour market needs in South Africa. More specifically, it examines the effectiveness of the assessment of labour market needs as well as the influence of institutional needs and dynamics within the formal decision-making process which governs the introduction of new programmes. The research takes the form of a case study in which the researcher examines the decision-making process relating to the introduction of a particular programme - the ND: Education: Home Economics - at a particular Technikon. Data consisted of official records and documents as well as transcripts of interviews with key participants in the decision-making process. The data was used to reconstruct and analyse the decision-making process as implemented in the case of this programme. The study argues that, in this case, the formal, prescribed process which purported to assess labour market needs did not effectively engage with the actual dynamics of the market place. The mechanisms designed to assess labour market needs were largely symbolic and highly bureaucratised. In addition to being weak in design, assessment procedures were not stringently implemented. While the introduction of new programmes is explicitly justified on the grounds of labour market needs, the decision-making process was in this case, strongly - though implicitly and informally - influenced by institutional needs and dynamics within the Technikon itself. This study points to the weaknesses in the design and control of the official prescribed process which guides decisions regarding the introduction of all new programmes at South African Technikons. On a theoretical level, it also calls into question an assumption on which much literature pertaining to Technikon education is premised, that is, the assumption that there is a relatively smooth articulation between the supply of Technikon graduates and labour market needs.

During the past several years, service delivery for mental health in Clark County has changed dramatically. The increase in funding from the federal government in the 1960's, the trend toward de-institutionalization, the emphasis on local control and administration, the proliferation of service agencies and types of programs, and the increase in demand for mental health services, has created the complex, multi-dimensional, multi-funded "system" called the mental health system. This increased complexity in the service delivery system has resulted in confusion among decision makers, consumers, providers of service, and the community at large. This confusion has manifested itself in a call for accountability. For local agencies receiving federal funds, accountability has been primarily an audit function. With respect to private agencies receiving private donations, accountability has been limited to budget presentations and rudimentary data collection, i.e., numbers served, client/staff ratios, program utilization by clients and the like. In general, no systematic, continous effort has been made to develop a full range of program evaluation accessible to decision makers, consumers, providers of service, and the community at large. In addition to the influence on the mental health system due to the increasing demands for accountability, elected officials are often becoming administrators of mental health funds. This increase in the span of control of elected officials has created greater visibility for their positions, thus bringing pressure from consumers as well as the community at large, to the mental health system. Recognizing the above trends in mental health care, the Clark County Commissioners contracted with the Health and Welfare Planning Council (HWPC) to investigate and provide information describing the nature of the mental health service delivery system in Clark County, and to report this information to the Commissioners and the community at large. In addition, the study attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of that system in the delivery of service.

Traditionally, improvements in the quality of life in Britain resulted from the temporary fusion of sometimes opposite interests which spurred Parliamentary action. Therefore, reform was rarely a party issue. Each reform question was treated separately and never as a part of a body of similar measures. Individuals were free to support or oppose particular reforms according to their own interests and motivations. The result of this lack of strong consistent reformist sentiment was a pattern of piece-meal legislative action with a notable absence of comprehensive social planning. The First World War, however, brought new challenges to British society. As the traditional, haphazard method of dealing with problems of social organization failed to meet the needs of a nation engaged in a total war, British society came to accept a high degree of central control and guidance under the banner of national efficiency. This acceptance of social planning opened up new opportunities to those reformers who had long sought to undertake the cure or Britain's social ills on a massive scale.

Youth gangs infiltrated Portland's illegal drug trade in the early 1980s. By the mid-1980s, entire neighborhoods in some parts of the city were affected. Residents expressed fear that their children would be drawn into gangs. Violence between rival gangs was frightening. Citizens, law enforcement and social services personnel organized to defend themselves and adjust programs to manage the problem. City officials denied a problem existed until a gang style shooting death forced recognition. The shooting death was catalytic in that it launched an effort to respond with a continuum of services. The House of Umoja was one of the services. The research was a case study of the response by citizens, street level service providers, and government officials to craft a meaningful gang control policy. Two themes were followed: The first addressed forces influencing decision-making and how those decisions shaped the process. The second examined considerations involved in selection of a community-based, residential, culturally-specific program. Data were collected through media accounts of events, organizational documents, and personal interviews utilizing a questionnaire format. The information was used to reconstruct the "story" as it was shaped by events and policy decisions which affected it. It was determined that affected citizens and street level service providers recognized, early on, they were dealing with a more dysfunctional juvenile delinquent. Efforts to respond were valiant, but hampered by lack of support from the levels of government able to allocate funds to build appropriate methods of control. The House of Umoja, part of the continuum of sanctions for gang involved youth, was implemented only after a painful, but rewarding, process involving citizens, strong community leadership, and the support of high ranking officials and influential business persons. Program selection was determined by arguments for establishing stronger ties between youth and their community in order to intervene with a holistic, rather than piecemeal approach. It was also influenced by the reputation of the Philadelphia House of Umoja which had been providing services to African American youth for 25 years.

Why is independence a central theme for proponents of assisted living facilities? How do assisted living providers respond to this theme? These questions are pursued in an ethnographic study centered on Oregon's assisted living program. Assisted living facilities (ALF), defined and monitored by Oregon's Senior and Disabled Services Division (SDSD), are a type of housing for disabled, primarily elderly, persons. Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR-411-56) define independence, requiring ALF providers to support resident independence. Using social worlds theory as a sensitizing concept, assisted living is treated as a distinct social world. The activities of key groups, including SDSD staff, an ALF professional group, and assisted living managers, are described. These members commit to a “social model” approach to long-term care for which independence is the unifying construct. This approach offers a value-practice “package” that explains how to implement the value of independence (Fujimura, 1997). Three arenas where this package is apparent are described: marketing, manager training, and daily operations. Content analysis of marketing brochures from 63 assisted living facilities shows that independence is a dominant theme, promoted like any other product. These materials indicate that assisted living operators promote resident independence by providing a barrier-free environment, helping residents with daily tasks, and allowing residents control over their decisions. Manager training programs are another arena where the policy value of independence is evident. Here, new managers learn “who we are” and “what we do” in this social world. They learn a new vocabulary and are introduced to tools for daily practice. They learn the boundaries of this social world, and above all, how to behave differently from nursing facilities that they associate with the “medical model.” In daily practice, managers use institutional conventions, including the “negotiated service agreement” and "managed risk agreement." These tools are designed to respond to the tension between supporting independence and providing care to chronically ill, disabled individuals. Observations of marketing, management training, and resident assessments indicate that the social world of assisted living is in a formative stage, as members attempt to define and legitimate who they are and what they do.

Change in American higher education is occurring at a rapid pace. The increasing reemergence of civic or community engagement as a key component in the overall landscape of American higher is emblematic of that change. Academic departments play a critical role in higher education change, including institutionalizing community engagement on campuses. Yet, designing a way of measuring community engagement specifically at the level of the academic department has not been undertaken. Based on advice from national expert/key informant interviews and the recognition of the importance of the role of academic departments in the overall institutionalization of community engagement in higher education, this study addresses a methodological gap in the literature concerning the measurement of community engagement. Several instruments have been developed primarily for institution-wide application, and some have been applied to academic units including colleges, schools, departments and programs. This study employs a grounded theory research strategy to develop and test a self-assessment rubric solely for use in academic departments. To ascertain the utility and validity of the rubric, this study pilot tests the explanatory framework in twelve social science departments located in five, geographically-diverse American universities. A secondary purpose of the study is to initiate an exploration of the potential use of institutional theory to more completely understand the constitutive role of the academic unit in the institutional transformation process. The research confirms the utility and validity of the departmental engagement self-assessment rubric. Additionally, the study categorizes and displays via histograms six overarching dimensions by level of support for community engagement for each of the twelve test departments. Finally, this research recommends instrumental as well as substantive areas for future research, including those that better connect institutional theory with efforts to embed civic engagement in the mission of traditional academic departments.