Shifting the Scope: How Taking School Demographics into Account in College Admissions Could Reduce K-12 Segregation Nationwide

Deepening racial and socioeconomic segregation is producing unequal educational outcomes at the K-12 level, outcomes that are then reproduced in higher education. This is particularly true as rising competition among colleges has led many of them to focus increasingly on measures of merit that correlate with income and as parents and students adjust their behavior in light of those metrics

Empowering or Entangling? Challenges of Participation in Development

Is participation empowering? As participation becomes an increasingly popular concept in development, a debate is growing over the reality and potential participatory strategies in development. This paper engages several enduring questions from development in practice, and suggests a new way of thinking about the unanticipated opportunities participatory projects might give the dis-empowered to co-opt development on their terms.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/120330/1/Scott-Railton_EmpoweringOrEntangling.pd

The Rhetoric and Reality of Water Quality Protection in China

With the majority of its freshwater sources polluted, and the pursuant incurrence of significant economic losses, and substantial health risks, China has reached a critical stage in its water resource management. Past efforts to legislate for water quality protection, although promising in content, have been less than effective. Four modes of enforcement—administrative controls, economic incentives, legal responsibility, and campaigns—have achieved only moderate success. This Comment examines the statutory and regulatory framework for water pollution control in China and suggests that if China\u27s water pollution controls are ever to be more than mere rhetoric, China must focus on eliminating conflicts of interest amongst regulators; take an absolutist rather than economic incentive based approach to pollution control; and provide sufficient funding for remedial actions while limiting future costs through increased conservation and public participation in water resource protection

A Legal Sanctuary: How the Religious Freedom Restoration Act Could Protect Sanctuary Churches

The last three decades have witnessed tectonic shifts in the doctrine and political valence of laws protecting religious exercise. In this Note, I analyze how this change has created the potential for sanctuary churches to receive greater legal protections today than during the 1980s sanctuary movement. This case study illustrates significant shifts in religious accommodation doctrine and helps to illuminate the transsubstantive nature of religious exercise protections. By drawing attention to sanctuary claims, this Note also helps to disrupt the existing partisan divide over religious freedom by reminding progressives of the potential value of RFRA claims for marginalized individuals, while highlighting to conservatives the importance of placing limits on religious accommodation claims. My hope is that this will motivate a return to an earlier consensus around accommodation as a means to protect systemically vulnerable groups and individuals in our society

Revolutionary Risks: Cyber Technology and Threats in the 2011 Libyan Revolution

(IWS/03 - Irregular Warfare Studies, book 3) The 2011 Libyan revolution was marked by the intensive use of cyber technology. Using decentralized ways of connecting, such as two-way satellite Internet, the Libyan opposition almost completely bypassed the government\u27s sophisticated Internet monitoring equipment and effectively ended the ability of the Gaddafi regime to control Internet access. Still, electronic actors working on behalf of the regime attacked opposition computers by exploiting key human vulnerabilities.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/ciwag-case-studies/1012/thumbnail.jp

Digital Security & Grantcraft Guide : an Introduction Guide for Funders

Digital security breaches can cause harm to grantees, as well as their clients, beneficiaries, and partner organizations. These threats also pose a risk to grantmakers and to the larger strategies of impacted organizations. Security leaks can compromise an organization's ability to carry out its work, and can erode trust between civil society actors.This guide is to help grant­makers both assess and address digital security concerns. It explores the types of digital threats against civil society and the obstacles to addressing them. It explains how to conduct a digital security "triage" of grants to elevate the digital security of your whole grant portfolio; while playing special attention to the highest risk grantees. And it provides suggestions for pathways to think more systematically about digital security