The Educating Neighborhood: How Villages Raise There Children

Almost everyone is familiar with the African saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." However, there are very few "villages" that actually engage in this practice. The educational assets of the village include the knowledge of neighborhood residents, the clubs, groups, and associations that are citizen-based learning environments and the local institutions (businesses, not-for-profits, and government bodies). They all provide incredible learning opportunities. It is these neighborhood educational assets that are activated in a village that raises its children.In most communities, however, these invaluable resources are unused and disconnected from the lives of young people. It appears that in one to two generations, villages have lost their power to raise children. Their functions have largely been transferred to schools. This transfer is reflected by the fact that in the last generation, schools have been asked to take responsibility for the health, safety, food, recreation, behavior, moral values, and entrepreneurial development of young people.This Kettering Foundation working paper by John McKnight, codirector of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute, Northwestern University, presents some of ABCD's research in assisting people in local neighborhoods to identify the local teaching knowledge

102nd Convocation 2016 Address - The Sky and Sea

Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion John McKnight states I know for sure that the liberal arts teach students how to think critically and provide unparalleled access to opportunities to translate good thinking into action

The Four Legged Stool

"Like a milking stool, society becomes dysfunctional if any leg is short or weak. The current argument is that civil society is the short, or weak, leg and thus our societal disarray." In this report to the Kettering Foundation, John McKnight examines this argument, making a case for the strengths of and the need for a stronger associational life for citizens.McKnight distinguishes associations from not-for-profit corporations, though they are often combined as the third leg of a "three-legged stool," the other legs being business and government. He points out their differences: not-for-profit corporations are usually formal and hierarchical, whereas associations tend to be informal and horizontal; not-for-profits use the special knowledge of professionals and experts to perform their functions, while associations generally use the experience and knowledge of member citizens.Society, McKnight argues, is actually like a four-legged stool, with associations being the fourth support. However, our focus on the three institutional legs has obscured the presence and vitality of the fourth.Alexis de Tocqueville recognized this powerful role of citizens in a democracy -- the power of association. In associations, he saw Americans making power. In voting, he saw them delegating power. As our three major institutions are pulling back from local community space -- governments cut budgets, not-for-profits reduce programs, and businesses contract -- the need for an alternative source of production becomes clear. Our future well-being depends on our rediscovery and nurturing of the fourth leg of the American stool -- associational life

The Economic Basis of Social Class

In this paper we adopt a theory of class positions based on employment relations to assess what implications individuals¿ class positions have for their economic life. In particular we consider economic security (the risk of unemployment), economic stability (the variability component in earnings) and economic prospects (lifetime earnings profiles). Our findings provide empirical support for the theory itself and little evidence for the currently fashionable claims of the decline, or even death, of class in today¿s society.social class, relations and conditions of employment, lifetime earnings, employment stability, employment security

Some Studies on a Mass Spectrometric Mixtures Problem

Abstract Not Provided

Security Analysis, Agency Costs, and UK Firm Characteristics

This paper assesses the monitoring power of security analysts from the manager-shareholder conflict perspective. Using a sample of UK firms tracked by security analysts, our evidence supports the view that security analysis acts as a monitoring mechanism in reducing agency costs. We also find that security analysts are more effective in reducing agency costs for smaller and more focused firms rather than larger and more diversified firms suggesting that for larger and more complex firms security analysis is less effective. The UK findings suggest that the monitoring role of security analysts is not restricted to the U.S. capital market environment.