Nation-Building Through Compulsory Schooling During the Age of Mass Migration

By the mid-19th century, America was the most educated nation on Earth: significant financial investments in education were being undertaken and the majority of children voluntarily attended public schools. So why did states across America start introducing compulsory schooling laws at this time in history? We provide qualitative and quantitative evidence that states adopted compulsory schooling laws as a nation-building tool to instill civic values to the tens of millions of culturally diverse migrants who arrived during the ‘Age of Mass Migration’ between 1850 and 1914. We show the adoption of state level compulsory schooling laws occurred significantly earlier in states that hosted a subgroup of European migrants with lower exposure to civic values in their home countries. We then use cross-county data to show the same subgroup of European migrants had significantly lower demand for American common schooling pre-compulsion, and so would have been less exposed to the kinds of civic value or discipline instilled by the American education system had compulsory schooling not been passed. By studying the link between mass migration and the endogenous policy responses of American-born voters in receiving states, our analysis provides new micro-foundations for compulsory schooling laws, the legislative bedrock on which all future developments of the American schooling system were built

Theoretical reflections on the connection between environmental assessment methods and conflict

Today there is a great variety of methods for evaluating the environmental impact of plans, programs and projects. But which of these methods should planners and managers choose? This theoretical article explores the connection between conflicts, communication and rationality in assessment methods. It focuses on the form (rationality) and substance of communication, i.e. what we should communicate about. The outcome supports the view that environmental assessments should be based on value- and interest-focused thinking, following a teleological ethic, when goals, alternatives and compensations are to be developed and impacts evaluated

Role of CT imaging in left atrial appendage occlusion for the WATCHMAN™ device

Computed tomography (CT) plays a key role in the peri-procedural planning of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) device placement and post-procedural evaluation. The geometric variability of the interatrial septum, left atrium, and the left atrial appendage morphology can be fully visualized and intuitively appreciated through CT-derived, patient-specific 3D model unique to each individual\u27s anatomy. This review further defines the strengths and limitations of CT peri-procedural imaging in the planning of LAAO

Role of CT imaging in left atrial appendage occlusion for the WATCHMAN™ device

Computed tomography (CT) plays a key role in the peri-procedural planning of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) device placement and post-procedural evaluation. The geometric variability of the interatrial septum, left atrium, and the left atrial appendage morphology can be fully visualized and intuitively appreciated through CT-derived, patient-specific 3D model unique to each individual\u27s anatomy. This review further defines the strengths and limitations of CT peri-procedural imaging in the planning of LAAO