Guns as American Exceptionalism

There is no issue on which the U.S. is as exceptional as civilian ownership of firearms. There are an estimated 330 million firearms in private hands; there is at least one firearm in 40% of American households. With 5% of the world's population, the U.S. has more than half of the world's civilian gun stock. How can this situation be explained? What problem or problems does it cause? How can Americans tolerate mass shootings that seem to occur more and more regularly? How come the National Rifle Association exerts so much political influence? To what extent does the U.S. constitution constrain policy options? What is the prospect for sensible gun control in the near future

‘The party’s over’: critical junctures, crises and the politics of housing policy

The key argument set out in this article is that historical and comparative forms of investigation are necessary if we are to better understand the ambitions and scope of contemporary housing interventions. To demonstrate the veracity of our claim, we have set out an analysis of the UK housing polices enacted in the mid-1970s as a basis for comparison with those pursued 40 years later. The article begins with a critical summary of some of the methodological approaches adopted by researchers used to interpret housing policy. In the main section, we present our critical analysis of housing policy reforms (implemented by the Labour government between 1974 and 1979) noting both their achievements and limitations. In the concluding section, we use our interpretation of this period as a basis to judge contemporary housing policy and reflect on the methodological issues that arise from our analysis

Group Work: Effects of Previous Peer Interactions

The research conducted through a student survey will provide insight as to whether or not past peer interactions through group work have tainted or influenced students\u27 feelings towards group work today. A survey will be administered to seventh grade middle school students from two local schools in Northwest Indiana. The purpose of this research study is to help shape the way educators understand student feelings toward group work before assigning peers together and expecting results or products