Academic literature on the topic 'Affirmative Action Pilot Program'

The Training and Development Scheme (TDS) is an affirmative action-based program located in the Greater Durban Area of Kwazulu-Natal. The program was conceived in 1992 to address the racial and gender disparities in the Durban Metropolitan Area. At the time the Scheme was introduced, the transition from an apartheid city council to a non-racial council had yet to take place, and the uneven racial and gender employment patterns were all too evident. The TDS would be one of the mechanisms to address the under-representation of Black (Indian, Colored, and African) employees in the management cadre of local and provincial government. The Training and Development Scheme has since evolved from a small affirmative action pilot project into a comprehensive human resource development program with additional objectives and partnerships. It is envisaged that at the end of the 1997–98 program, approximately 145 participants would have graduated from the Scheme. The participants would have been provided with education and training that complies with the requirements of the National Qualifications Framework and is dynamically linked to the broader institutional transformational issues of local and provincial government management. The Training and Development Scheme has since been upgraded and since 1998, has been offered as a Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Administration (Development Management) by the School of Public Policy and Development Management of the University of Durban-Westville.

Politicians are challenged to increase economic opportunities for citizens with disabilities. Today, the employment of persons with disabilities within the Australian Government is being supported through a RecruitAbility Scheme. With full implementation of the Scheme underway, it is a timely research exercise to critically explore early progress. Enabling such exploration, this study has applied qualitative content analysis to 12 publicly available texts that collectively assess early (i.e. pilot and first year full implementation) program performance. Findings of this critical analysis should be of particular interest to policymakers, practitioners, and persons with disabilities. The findings reveal that despite policy rhetoric, the Scheme is making only modest achievements. This exploratory study supports a biopsychosocial model inspired approach, which aims to improve the recruitment, retainment, and career development of individuals with disabilities across the Australian Public Service.

Background: In India, heterogenous tribal populations are grouped together under a common category, Scheduled Tribe, for affirmative action. Many tribal communities are closely associated with forests and difficult-to-reach areas and have worse-off health and nutrition indicators. However, poor population health outcomes cannot be explained by geography alone. Social determinants of health, especially various social disadvantages, compound the problem of access and utilisation of health services and undermine their health and nutritional status. The Towards Health Equity and Transformative Action on tribal health (THETA) study has three objectives: (1) describe and analyse extent and patterns of health inequalities, (2) generate theoretical explanations, and (3) pilot an intervention to validate the explanation. Methods: For objective 1, we will conduct household surveys in seven forest areas covering 2722 households in five states across India, along a gradient of socio-geographic disadvantage. For objective 2, we will purposefully select case studies illustrating processes through which socio-geographic disadvantages act at the individual, household/neighbourhood, village or population level, paying careful attention to the interactions across various known axes of inequity. We will use a realist evaluation approach with context-mechanism-outcome configurations generated from the wider literature on tribal health and results of objective 1. For objective 3, we will partner with willing stakeholders to design and pilot an equity-enhancing intervention, drawing on the theoretical explanation generated and evaluate it to further refine our final explanatory theory. Discussion: THETA project seeks to generate site-specific evidence to guide public health policy and programs to better contribute to equitable health in tribal populations. It fulfills the current gap in generating and testing explanatory social theories on the persistent and unfair accumulation of geographical and social disadvantage among tribal populations and finally examines if such approaches could help design equity-enhancing interventions to improve tribal health.

This paper reviews evidence indicating that, as it has been enforced so far, affirmative action has contributed negligibly to women's progress in the workplace. Affirmative action can be modeled as a tax on employers whose female employment growth falls below a certain rate. Clearly, if labor supply shifts result in female employment growth greater than the regulatory standard, the tax constraint will not be binding. As we shall see, this may help explain an affirmative action program that is generally ineffective for women, although it has been effective for minorities. Federal anti-bias policies in general, and the system of affirmative action goals in particular, have been accused of instituting employment quotas. This paper reviews evidence on the homogenization of the workplace predicted by the quota theory, as well as considering more direct evidence on whether affirmative action goals are really quotas in lambs' clothing. I shall also review the slim evidence on the most fundamental and controversial criticism of affirmative action: that rather than reducing discrimination against women and minorities, it has induced discrimination against white males. A new methodology employing direct productivity measures rather than the traditional but limited wage equation residuals proves useful in exploring this issue.

IMGIP and ICEOP are minority graduate fellowship programs sponsored by the State of Illinois in order to increase the number of minority faculty and professional staff at Illinois institutions of higher education through graduate fellowships, networking and mentoring support. Nearly 850 fellowships have been awarded since 1986. A performance audit examined immediate (areas of graduate study, ethnicity of awards), intermediate (graduation areas and rates), and long-range results (academic job placement). The primary source for the audit was the database maintained by the programs' administrative office. These data were compared with data sets maintained by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and with national benchmarks (NSF and Ford Foundation Minority Graduate Fellowships). Findings revealed: (a) the IMGIP and ICEOP programs led to major diversification of minority doctoral study in Illinois; (b) a high percentage of all fellows graduated, both absolutely and in relation to national benchmarks, and fellows made up a large percentage of doctoral degrees awarded to minorities by Illinois institutions (e.g., 46% of doctorates in the hard sciences awarded to African Americans from 1988-1998); and (c) fellows made up an important proportion of all minority faculty in Illinois (9%). Most ICEOP doctoral fellows and many other fellows have taken academic positions. The audit revealed outcomes-based evidence of a successful affirmative action program in higher education—evidence that is not otherwise available.

The minority (nonwhite) can tell stories about institutional practices in academia that result in unintended benefits for the majority (white). One institutional practice in academia is affirmative action. This article presents a story about a minority applicant for a sociology position and his referral to an affirmative action program for recruiting minority faculty. One reason for telling the story is to illustrate how an affirmative action program can be implemented in a manner that marginalizes minority persons in the faculty recruitment process and results in benefits for majority persons. Another reason for telling the story is to sound an alarm for majority and minority faculty who support affirmative action programs that the programs can fall short of their goals if their implementation is simply treated as a bureaucratic activity in academia.

AbstractI first discuss the Obama administration's efforts to promote racial diversity on college campuses in the face of recent court challenges to affirmative action. I then analyze opposition in this country to “racial preferences” as a way to overcome inequality. I follow that with a discussion of why class-based affirmative action, as a response to cries from conservatives to abolish “racial preferences,” would not be an adequate substitute for race-based affirmative action. Instead of class-based affirmative action, I present an argument for opportunity enhancing affirmative action programs that rely on flexible, merit-based criteria of evaluation as opposed to numerical guidelines or quotas. Using the term “affirmative opportunity” to describe such programs, I illustrate their application with three cases: the University of California, Irvine's revised affirmative action admissions procedure; the University of Michigan Law School's affirmative action program, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2003; and the hiring and promotion of faculty of color at colleges and universities as seen in how I myself benefited from a type of affirmative action based on flexible merit-based criteria at the University of Chicago in the early 1970s. I conclude by relating affirmative opportunity programs for people of color to the important principle of “equality of life chances.”

Using data from Louisiana's Department of Transportation and Development for the years 1985–89 and a 1990 survey of construction firms doing business in Louisiana, the authors examine whether firms owned by minorities and women faced discrimination in the awarding of contracts in the state's public highway construction program. No evidence of discrimination is shown by a regression analysis, and only weak, ambiguous evidence of discrimination is shown by a disparity ratio analysis. The authors conclude that the sampled firms did not face discrimination in the years examined.

The development of affirmative action strategies designed to achieve equal employment opportunity has been studied along six dimensions of functioning within four separate organisations. Three of these organisations were participants in the Federal Government's Affirmative Action Pilot Program in 1984/5, and one was not. It has been shown that change occurred in a continuous developmental sequence, here called an "Affirmative Action Continuum", within each of these six dimensions over the period of study, with each organisation following a similar sequence of movement. Exceptions occurred where an organisation made no movement at all, or where one or more of the sequential processes was omitted or displaced, in a dimension. The reasons for some of these exceptions, and some of their consequences for later action, have been explored. It has been shown that simultaneous activity occurred across several, dimensions, so that no organisation acted upon only one dimension in isolation from all others. There was some chronological sequencing between dimensions. The indicators of movement along the Affirmative Action Continuum within each dimension were used to describe the change process in each organisation. These indicators proved to be useful both in this regard, and in placing each organisation an the Affirmative Action Continuum in each dimension at two different points in time. In this way, the indicators' usefulness was shown to generalise to four very different institutions, thus suggesting applicability beyond the bounds of this particular study. It is intended that the results of this dissertation, and in particular the model of the Affirmative Action Continuum and the indicators described in Chapter Two, be used by Equal Employment Opportunity practitioners to facilitate their decision making about sequencing of activities designed to achieve equal employment oppportunity.

Affirmative action in higher education is a necessary component for ethnic minorities to be afforded postsecondary educational access and opportunities to improve their socioeconomic status. The ban of affirmative action in undergraduate admissions, wherever instituted, has decreased the undergraduate enrollment of ethnic minorities. The broad objective of this research is to demonstrate how the elimination of affirmative action has lessened postsecondary educational access for minorities, who presently account for the majority or near-majority population in several states and will soon account for a much larger segment of the national population. This study will use two series of multiple regression models with scale-level variables to note the effect of the removal of affirmative action and the effectiveness of the Talented Twenty Program in maintaining student diversity at the University of Florida and the Florida State University. The major finding of this research is that the minority enrollment at UF and FSU was significantly related to the change in policy from affirmative action to the Talented Twenty Program. This study and the prior literature strongly suggest that the current diversity levels at these public universities are most likely a result of the university recruitment and outreach programs and population change.
ID: 031001524; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Adviser: Andrea Vieux.; Title from PDF title page (viewed August 19, 2013).; Thesis (M.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2012.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-95).
M.A.
Masters
Political Science
Sciences
Political Science; American and Comparative Politics

The recent emphasis on Affirmative Action policies in South African corporations has illuminated the issue of cultural diversity in organizations and the difficulties arising from this transition and change. One such difficulty is the problem of intercultural communication where miscommunication can have life-threatening consequences. This problem is particularly critical in the operational environment of the passenger aircraft flight deck where small group factors, as well as intercultural issues must be taken into account. In this thesis the problem of intercultural communication in such contexts as a consequence of Affirmative Action is examined. The data for this thesis comprises the communication of five culturally diverse flight crews. A multi-method was used for the gathering and analysis of this data. This involved the use of video-taped flight simulator sessions, and personal interviews with each crew member. The subjects themselves were involved in identifying key communication problems from the video and interpretation of the data. Three levels of analysis were used in the interpretation of the findings - the individual, the group and the organization. The factors which affected communication at each level in the small, culturally diverse group are highlighted. Furthermore, factors which influence the climate in which communication takes place are also considered. The implications for Affirmative Action are discussed.

Percentage plans such as the Talented Twenty program purport to assist and motivate high ranking students to attend college and grant access to higher education. This type of plan is particularly important to students enrolled in high priority schools who might not view themselves as potential college students. This study examined the relationship between Florida’s Talented Twenty program that begins intervention with juniors and the college aspirations for high ranking students at a high priority school. Numerous studies have established that increased levels of education lead to higher salaries, career mobility, and an increased quality of life (e.g., Bowen, 1997; Leslie & Brinkman 1988; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, Swail, 2000). Given the importance of students’ decisions regarding whether or not they will attend college, understanding how and when they make decisions about attending college is important for them, their parents, advisors, and educational administrators. This research examined students’ perceptions and insights via interviews. The overarching research question was: How do high ranking high school students attending a high priority school in a south Florida district perceive their college opportunities? Sixteen high ranking students, grades nine – 12 from a high priority school in Miami-Dade County participated in the study. Participants were identified by a school counselor and individual semi structured interviews were conducted at the school. Utilizing a student development theoretical framework developed by Hossler and Gallagher (1987) that centered on students’ predisposition, search strategies and choices, data were organized and emergent themes analyzed. The analysis of the data revealed that in alignment with the framework (a) parents were the strongest influence in the development of these students’ college aspirations, (b) these students formalized their higher education plans between eighth and 10th grade, (c) these students actively engaged in academic searches and learning opportunities that increased their chances to be admitted into college, and (d) there was no relationship between knowledge regarding the Talented Twenty program and their educational decisions. This study’s findings suggest that interventions and programs intended to influence the educational aspirations of students are more likely to succeed if they take place by the eighth or ninth grade.

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This research articulates itself or gives continuity to dissertations and theses produced in the context of the Núcleo de Estudos de Gênero, Raça e Idade (NEGRI), part of the Program of Graduate Studies in social psychology from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo/PUC-SP. Its overall goal, is to try to contribute to the understanding and the improvement of the ethnic-racial identification processes in affirmative action experiences. Its main specific goal is to describe and propose interpretations to the ethnic-racial speeches delivered in the International Fellowships Program - IFP (IFP Program) context. Based on the Munanga (1988), theoretical hypothesis, which proposes the plurality of being negro in Brazil; in the concept the concept of racism which integrates the structural and symbolic dimension in production of racial inequalities and in defense of the argument of social justice as the best justification, in Brazil, for the implementation of affirmative action policies with racial clipping, from Feres Júnior (2006). As a research method we adopted the Depth Hermeneutical (DH). In this thesis, the symbolic shapes examined comes from the answers given from candidates, which filled in a form to be part of the IFP Program, where the speeches were examined in specific fields related to self-declaration and racial identification, by content analysis technique. The profile from the authors which we analyzed the speech, shows that: proximity with the universe of candidates to the IFP Program; a predominant percentage of pretos and pardos authors, which have declared that they belong to the target group negro; with a predominance of young people and women. Among the 169 candidates that comprise our sample, 105 or 62.1% declared that they identify themselves as negros. High frequency occurred per source justification for self-declaration of color/race, suggesting the need for further studies. We found clear difference between subsets of authors which declared themselves as pretos or who identify themselves as negros and the authors as brancos. But the reports from the pardos show that they are located in the middle. The results reveal a variety of ways to present oneself as preto, pardo or branco in an affirmative action program with clipping ethnic-racial
Esta pesquisa se articula ou dá continuidade a dissertações e teses produzidas no contexto do Núcleo de Estudos de Gênero, Raça e Idade (NEGRI), do Programa de Estudos Pós-Graduados em Psicologia Social da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São/PUC-SP, tendo por objetivo geral procurar contribuir para a compreensão e melhoria da prática, de processos de identificação étnico-raciais em experiência de ação afirmativa. Seu objetivo específico é descrever e propor interpretações a discursos étnico-raciais proferidos no contexto do Programa Internacional de Bolsas de Pósgraduação da Fundação Ford (Programa IFP). Fundamenta-se na hipótese teórica de Munanga (1988), que propõe a pluralidade do ser negro, no Brasil; na concepção de racismo que integra a dimensão estrutural e simbólica na produção das desigualdades raciais e na defesa do argumento de justiça social como a melhor justificativa, no Brasil, para a implementação de políticas de ação afirmativa com recorte racial, a partir de Feres Júnior (2006). Como método de pesquisa adotamos a hermêutica de profundidade (HP). Nesta tese, as formas simbólicas analisadas provêm das respostas de candidatos ao Formulário para Candidatura do Programa IFP, onde foram examinados os discursos proferidos nos campos específicos relacionados à autodeclaração e identificação racial, pela técnica de análise de conteúdo. A caracterização do perfil da amostra de autores dos discursos que analisamos aponta para: uma proximidade com o universo de candidatos ao Programa IFP; um percentual predominante de autores pretos e pardos, que declararam pertencer ao grupo-alvo negro; um predomínio de jovens e de mulheres. Dentre os 169 candidatos que compõem nossa amostra, 105, ou seja 62,1%, declararam identificar-se como negros. Ocorreu alta freqüência da justificativa por origem para a autodeclaração de cor/raça, o que aponta a necessidade de novos estudos. Encontramos nítida diferença entre os subconjuntos de autores de relatos autodeclarados pretos ou se que se identificam como negros e os autores brancos. Já os relatos dos autores pardos se situam em posição intermediária. Os resultados revelam uma variedade de formas de se apresentar como preto, pardo ou branco em um programa de ação afirmativa com recorte étnico-racial

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O debate sobre as ações afirmativas na educação tem muitos aspectos a serem explorados. Em uma sociedade caracterizada por um tipo de racismo que se camufla no mito da existência de uma democracia racial, discutir sobre cotas raciais na educação é penetrar em um terreno cheio de polêmicas e contradições. De outro lado, os estudos sobre juventude têm enfatizado a existência de muitas juventudes tendo em vista que as desigualdades, tanto as sociais como as étnico-raciais produzem diferentes modelos do que é ser jovem, não apenas no Brasil, mas em todo o mundo. Neste sentido, nosso objetivo com este estudo é estabelecer algumas relações entre juventude, ações afirmativas e educação detro do espaço escolar, elegendo como campo de observação os estudantes do Ensino Médio do IFBA, campus Salvador. Deste modo, iniciamos o estudo pela busca de compreender a própria educação profissional vigente na rede federal, a qual nos primeiros anos do século XXI viveu um intenso processo de transformações e crescimento. É este o contexto de implantação das ações afirmativas, implicando não apenas na ampliação da oferta, como também no ingresso de estudantes de variados grupos sociais, promovendo de certo modo uma maior democratização do acesso. A ampliação do acesso não se dá, entretanto, sem que esses “novos estudantes” passem a demandar um maior cuidado e atendimento ao que se faz na ampliação da Política de Assistência Estudantil dentro dos institutos e não apenas para o Ensino Superior como antes ocorria. Essas políticas voltadas à inclusão de grupos historicamente alijados da educação pública através da rede federal provocam novas reflexões sobre currículo, respeito à diversidade e sobre diversos aspectos que envolvem a permanência dos estudantes na escola. Assim, através da Análise do Discurso de orientação francesa, tomamos o discurso dos estudantes nos voltamos à reflexão sobre a adoção da Política de Ações afirmativas, tendo como foco os sentidos dados por esses jovens sujeitos ao direito à educação e como ele se configura na compreensão dos mesmos. Nesta análise se evidencia a permanência de sentidos já existentes em nossa sociedade manifestos em dicotomias identificadas no debate sociológico, como a dualidade raça/classe e exigência de melhoria da qualidade da escola pública.
ABSTRACT The debate about affirmative action in education has many aspects to be explored. In a society characterized by a kind of racism that is camouflaged in the myth of the existence of a racial democracy, discuss racial quotas in education is to penetrate in a full field of controversy and contradictions. On the other hand, studies of youth have emphasized the existence of many youths with a view that social and ethic minority inequalities produce different models of what being young, not only in Brazil but worldwide. In this sense, our goal with this study is to establish some relationships between youth, affirmative action and education in the school environment, electing as field observation the students of IFBA´s Ensino Médio, campus Salvador. In this way, we had begun the study by seeking to understand the professional education in the Federal System, which in the early years of the twenty-first century lived an intense process of transformation and development. This is the context of affirmative action implementation, involving the expansion of supply, as well as the entry of students from various social groups by promoting somewhat more democratic access. This increased acesse hasn´t happened, however, without these "new students" start to demand greater care and attention to what is done in the expansion of the Student Assistance Policy in the “Institutos” and not just for higher education as before occurred. These policies for the inclusion of groups historically kept out of public education through the Federal System provoke new thinking about curriculum, respect for diversity and on various aspects involving the sucess of students in school. Thus, through the speech of students, we turn to the discussion of the adoption of the Affirmative Action Policy, focusing on the directions given by these young individuals about the right to education and how it is in understanding them. (and how this right is in understanding them). In this analysis shows the persistence of the existing sense in our society, manifested in dichotomies identified in sociological debate, as the duality race/class and demand for improved public school quality

A tese mostra as trajetórias e a presença (in)tensa de estudantes, docentes e gestores que entrecruzaram e en(tre)laçaram suas vidas no Programa Conexões de Saberes da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS, no período de 2005 a 2009. Invoca e provoca uma reflexão sobre as disposições éticas, estéticas e afetuais que se manifestaram nas ações e no estar-junto, nas narrativas e testemunhos das vidas daqueles que fizeram e configuraram o referido Programa. Põe em evidência as formas que teceram e sustentaram, (des)mobilizaram e (des)potencializaram, deram vigor e vitalismo à sua realização. Através da escuta dos testemunhos de vida de estudantes, de professores, de gestores, a pesquisa expõe a disposição do seu autor em ser e estar escutador da vida em suas múltiplas relações e em seus destinos entre-cruzados. Para tanto, utiliza-se de procedimentos metodológicos tais como memoriais, testemunhos de vida, entrevistas individuais e coletivas (grupo focal), compilação e análise de documentos, um diário de reflexões e outros registros. O estudo se configura e se ampara em um modo de fazer pesquisa que se permite surpreender com o dado mundano, com a trajetória que se mostra, com a vida que é; próprio de uma razão aberta e sensível, de uma Sociologia compreensiva, acariciante e do formismo de Michel Maffesoli, bem como da Forma e da Sociologia das formas sociais de Georg Simmel. As trajetórias de vida são entrelaçadas a partir dos traços e marcas familiares e escolares, das relações trabalho-estudo, do engajamento comunitário, da escolha do curso, do Concurso Vestibular, do ingresso no Ensino Superior, do viver na Universidade. A reflexão privilegia (1) os processos de identificação e as éticas manifestas nos testemunhos, nas narrativas e no estar-junto; (2) as (in)tensas relações vivenciadas pelos atores que produziram o Conexões ; (3) ambos caracterizados pelo conflito como uma forma de sociação (Simmel) e transfigurados pela potência do político, do educativo, do ético, do estético, do afetual.
The thesis shows the trajectories and the (in)tense reality of students, teachers and administrators who crisscrossed, enlaced and intertwined their lives in the Knowledge Connections Program of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS, in the period 2005 to 2009. It invokes and provokes a reflection on the ethical, aesthetic and affective provisions manifested in the actions and in the togetherness, the narrations and the testimonies of the lives of those who made and shaped this Program. It highlights the ways that have provided and maintained, (dis)potentialized and (un)worsened and given vigor and vitality to its realization. By listening to the testimonies of the life of students, teachers, administrators, this work exposes the disposition of its author to be listening in on life in its multiple relationships and its inter-laced destinations. To this end, it employs methodological procedures such as memorials, testimonies of life, individual and group interviews (focus group), compilation and analysis of documents, a diary of reflections and other records. The study is configured and focused on a way to do research that permits to be surprised by the mundane, with the trajectory that is shown, with life as it is; as pertains to an open and sensitive reason, to a sociology that is understanding and tender as shaped by Michel Maffesoli, and to Form and Sociology of social forms by Georg Simmel. The paths of life are intertwined beginning from the traces and marks of family and school, of the relations of work and study, community engagement, the choice of courses, the University entrance exam, the entry into higher education, living in the University. The discussion focuses on (1) identification processes and ethics evident in the testimonies, narrations and togetherness, (2) the (in)tense relations lived by the actors who produced the “Connections”, (3) both characterized by conflict as a form of sociation (Vergellschaftung) (Simmel) and transfigured by the power of politics, education, ethics, aestheticism, affectation.

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In this Doctoral Thesis the implantation of the University for All Program (ProUni) has been analyzed for the period of 2005 2008 and the insertion of Negroes into higher learning, bringing out this implementation in two Institutes for Higher Learning localized in Campo Grande, South Mato Grosso. ProUni is a public policy elaborated in the context of the reform of higher learning during the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that envisions the democratization of access to this level of learning, by conceding scholarships for partial or fulltime studies. The fundamental presupposition that sustained this Thesis is the following: although ProUni is a policy focused and elaborated within the neoliberal context, it can represent a strategy of access and permanence for young Negroes into higher learning. On explaining and understanding the aim of the research, as well as its guiding theme, three questions came up during this process. Is ProUni one of the conquests of the Negro Social Movements for the implementation of policies of affirmative action or merely a strategy for the transfer of public resources to the private sector via fiscal exemption? Does the insertion of Negroes into higher learning by way of racial quotas sharpen the debate on racial bias or question the ideology of the racial democracy myth in Brazilian society? Do the Programs of promotion of racial equality represent conquests for the Negro population or appear as a centralized and newly signified policy by the convergent antagonism between the Negro Social Movement and the government, which process was initiated during the presidency of Fernando Henrique Cardoso? In this perspective, the objectives of this investigation consist of: a) analyze the implantation of the University for All Program (ProUni) in the context of higher learning in the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva seeking to identify its significance as a policy for democratization which envisions the insertion of negroes into higher learning; b) investigate the significance of ProUni for the scholarship students, specially in what refers to their permanence in university courses; c) investigate the perception of the scholarship students of ProUni, as to the policies of affirmative action, the quota policies, racial discrimination and racial bias. The Thesis presents the struggle of the Negro Social Movements for the implantation of public policies for the promotion of racial equality, in the context of the historical reconfiguration of the role of the Brazilian State. It shows the theoretical debate and the contradictions on the policies of affirmative action, the system of quotas and ProUni. The research was carried out with the application of socioeconomic questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with thirty-one Negro students, studying at night, in the Law and Pedagogy courses of the two Institutions of Higher Learning in Campo Grande MS. The classification and analysis of the legislation that oriented and normalized the implantation of ProUni on a national scale was carried out along with the bibliographical research, which makes up the theoretical basis for the realization of this Thesis. The conclusion points out that the problems relative to racial inequalities and the access of young negroes to higher learning in Brazil will certainly not be solved by the intermediation of ProUni and focalized policies, and can be gradually withdrawn at the same rate as policies of a universalist character are able to guarantee for all Brazilians, the right to citizenship and a dignified life, independently of the color of their skin.
Nesta Tese de Doutorado, analisamos a implantação do Programa Universidade para Todos (ProUni), no período de 2005 2008, e a inserção de negros na educação superior, destacando a sua implementação em duas Instituições de Educação Superior localizadas em Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul. O ProUni é uma política pública elaborada no contexto da reforma da educação superior do Governo de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva que visa a democratização do acesso a esse nível de ensino por meio da concessão de bolsas de estudo integrais e parciais. O pressuposto fundamental que sustenta esta Tese é o seguinte: embora o ProUni seja uma política focalizada, elaborada no contexto neoliberal, pode representar uma estratégia de acesso e permanência para jovens negros na educação superior. Ao explicarmos e compreendermos o objeto de pesquisa, bem como seu eixo norteador, três questões surgiram no decorrer desse processo: O ProUni é uma das conquistas dos Movimentos Sociais Negros pela implementação de políticas de ação afirmativa ou apenas uma estratégia para transferir recursos públicos para o setor privado via isenção fiscal? A inserção de negros na educação superior por meio de cotas raciais pode acirrar o debate sobre o preconceito e o racismo ou questiona a ideologia do mito da democracia racial na sociedade brasileira? Os Programas de promoção da igualdade racial representam conquistas para a população negra ou configuram-se como política centralizada e ressignificada pelo antagonismo convergente entre o Movimento Social Negro e o governo, processo iniciado durante a presidência de Fernando Henrique Cardoso? Nessa perspectiva, os objetivos desta investigação consistiram em: a) analisar a implantação do Programa Universidade para Todos - ProUni no contexto da reforma da educação superior no governo de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, procurando identificar o seu significado como política de democratização que visa a inserção de negros na educação superior; b) investigar o significado do ProUni para os estudantes bolsistas, especialmente no que se refere à sua permanência nos cursos superiores; c) investigar a percepção dos estudantes, bolsistas do ProUni, sobre as políticas de ação afirmativa, as políticas de cotas, a discriminação racial e o preconceito. A Tese apresenta a luta dos Movimentos Sociais Negros para a implantação de políticas públicas para a promoção da igualdade racial, no contexto da reconfiguração histórica do papel do Estado brasileiro. Demonstra o debate teórico e as contradições sobre as políticas da ação afirmativa, o sistema de cotas e o ProUni. A pesquisa desenvolveu-se por meio da aplicação de questionário socioeconômico e entrevistas semi-estruturadas realizadas com trinta e um acadêmicos negros, do período noturno, dos cursos de Direito e Pedagogia de duas Instituições de Educação Superior de Campo Grande-MS. Realizamos a classificação e a análise da legislação que orientou e normatizou a implantação do ProUni em âmbito nacional e a pesquisa bibliográfica, que constituiu a base teórica para a realização desta Tese. A conclusão apontou para o fato de que os problemas relativos às desigualdades raciais e ao acesso dos jovens negros à educação superior no Brasil certamente não serão solucionados por intermédio do ProUni e pelas políticas focalizadas; poderão, contudo, ser gradativamente extintos, à medida que as políticas de caráter universalista forem capazes de garantir a todos os brasileiros o direito à cidadania e uma vida digna, independente da cor de sua pele.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
This study investigated the implementation of broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) policy in the hotel industry of South Africa. BBBEE aims to accelerate the inclusion of black people into the economy through company ownership, human resource, and enterprise and community development. Although black people represent 91 per cent of South Africa’s population, the economy is controlled by a small white population. Studies have shown slow adoption and resistance to the BBBEE policy by the private sector, including in the hotel industry. Therefore, the research problem was the nature of compliance with, and the implementation of, black empowerment policy in the hotel industry. The main objective of the study was to investigate whether a framework for the effective implementation of black empowerment policy could be developed, given the centrality of hotels in the tourism value chain. The specific objectives were to determine the nature of the disconnect on BBBEE, to identify factors which facilitated or inhibited implementation, and to explore solutions for enhancing BBBEE implementation in the hotels. A quantitative investigation of 611 hotel general managers constituted the core of the dissertation’s content and contribution. Data from 178 respondents was analysed using descriptive and correlational statistical methods. The development of the quantitative research instrument was substantiated by the preliminary qualitative study of five hotel group executives. The mixed methods approach was appropriate for investigating the dual structure (group and unit) of the hotel industry. The results indicated that hotels were recording progress on human resource development although compliance levels did not meet the required BBBEE targets. On enterprise development, the hotels’ engagement with small black enterprises was low both quantitatively and qualitatively. Furthermore, hotel group leaders indicated that the tourism-specific BBBEE charter presented bureaucratic challenges, as tourism straddles several industries which required different BBBEE certification. The study has developed an empowerment framework of solutions for achieving success in BBBEE in hotels. The primary factors determining success are the provision of performance targets and incentives for general managers, and if the hotel manager supports BBBEE policy. Furthermore, exogenous factors such as the star rating and location of a hotel also impact on BBBEE implementation. A quantitative investigation of 611 hotel general managers constituted the core of the dissertation’s content and contribution. Data from 178 respondents was analysed using descriptive and correlational statistical methods. The development of the quantitative research instrument was substantiated by the preliminary qualitative study of five hotel group executives. The mixed methods approach was appropriate for investigating the dual structure (group and unit) of the hotel industry. The results indicated that hotels were recording progress on human resource development although compliance levels did not meet the required BBBEE targets. On enterprise development, the hotels’ engagement with small black enterprises was low both quantitatively and qualitatively. Furthermore, hotel group leaders indicated that the tourism-specific BBBEE charter presented bureaucratic challenges, as tourism straddles several industries which required different BBBEE certification. The study has developed an empowerment framework of solutions for achieving success in BBBEE in hotels. The primary factors determining success are the provision of performance targets and incentives for general managers, and if the hotel manager supports BBBEE policy. Furthermore, exogenous factors such as the star rating and location of a hotel also impact on BBBEE implementation. This study builds on, and adds value to previous studies by moving beyond the investigative mode to identifying practical policy options for successful transformation of the hotel industry. The proposed framework acknowledges the diverse nature of the tourism product, and provides potential solutions to enhance the hotel managers’ ability to anticipate and incorporate factors impacting on BBBEE implementation. The framework adds theoretical value to affirmative action discourse by suggesting a conceptual shift from a race-based approach to an alternative one which would incorporate sustainable tourism and ethical governance concerns. Such an approach would maximise BBBEE potential in the hotel industry of South Africa for beneficiaries and communities. Additional research is recommended to substantiate the hypothesis with a broader sample as the study was limited to hotel managers.

This chapter examines the origins of affirmative action in the University of Michigan (UM). The pressure that led to the university's first undergraduate affirmative action admissions program came from a federal bureaucrat and the president of the United States, who were both responding to black activism for workplace justice. Yet this pressure never threatened UM with the loss of lucrative federal contracts or potential court cases. UM adopted affirmative action in 1964 because people at the top of the institution wanted the university to change. This environment of weak federal coercion created a perfect recipe for co-optation. After the initial dose of federal pressure, UM officials took control of the purpose and character of affirmative action, creating a program that preserved the university's long-established priorities and values. It is no surprise, then, that between 1964 and 1967, black enrollment rose from only 0.5 to 1.65 percent of the student body. However, given that African Americans constituted more than 10 percent of the state population, affirmative action made a small dent in the racial disparities at UM.

This chapter discusses the legal battles involving the University of Texas School of Law and its affirmative action program. In the wake of its success in 1944 in the all-white primary case, Smith v. Allwright, the Texas NAACP called for the integration of Texas's flagship university in Austin. Some months later Thurgood Marshall wrote a letter to Austin's only African American lawyer asking for information about how to apply to the UT School of Law. The chapter examines the Supreme Court case of Heman Marion Sweatt that produced a major stepping-stone toward Brown v. Board of Education, along with another case involving UT's undergraduate admissions that reaffirmed a state's right to implement affirmative action policies. In particular, it analyzes McLaurin v. Regents and Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, along with the Texas legislature's response to Hopwood v. Texas in the form of the “10% rule.”

Chapter 6 provides a reflection of the findings of the book. A story of recent resistance to the marginalization of people of color in the community provides the framework. Resistance to white racism and appropriated histories are a framework for understanding how people of color claimed their civil rights for the last two hundred years. The chapter concludes with a proposal for an affirmative action program in the heritage industry.

Constitutional discourse bears the realist earmarks of normative discourse more generally. Those who debate the morality of affirmative action programs, for instance, generally talk as if there were a correct answer from the standpoint of morality. In similar fashion, those who debate the constitutionality of a particular affirmative action program generally talk as if there were a correct answer from the standpoint of constitutional law. The aim of this chapter is to take seriously these earmarks and offer an account of the nature of constitutional facts: facts about what a constitution requires, forbids, or permits. This chapter proposes that constitutional facts are facts about what a specific constitution requires, forbids, or permits when it is interpreted in accordance with norms that are appropriate given the function of a constitution. It argues that this account of constitutional judgments and facts should be accepted because of its explanatory value. Understanding constitutional facts in this way well explains disagreement and patterns of constitutional argument. It explains why first-order constitutional theorizing takes the shape that it does. And it accounts for the objectivity and normativity of constitutional judgments.

Eric Fenrich studies the efforts of Black activists and NASA to increase minority educational access that would lead to greater participation in the space program. According to Fenrich, the concurrence of the civil rights movement and the American space program reveal the two primary methods by which the advocates in the modern era have sought to advance the interests of African Americans. First, a negative project: the removal of formal barriers to the exercise of rights, more specifically, ending discriminatory practices in Equal Employment Opportunity and education. Second, more positive efforts, such as equal employment opportunities or affirmative action, that place opportunities within the reach of historically disadvantaged people. Fenrich also examines the fallout over James C. Fletcher’s firing of Ruth Bates Harris.

All of the contributors to this book are clearly in favor of community schools. We would like to see this movement grow rapidly or, as we often say, “go to scale.” This would mean that communities with high needs and low performance would be assisted in transforming their schools. The Children’s Aid Society (CAS) work is one of the streams that have come together to create a new field of full-service community schools. The CAS model has been strengthened by many adaptations throughout the country and overseas. A National Technical Assistance Center for Community Schools has been set up at Intermediate School (IS) 218 with facilities for orientation and training. More than 6,000 policy makers and practitioners from all over the world have taken the tour and observed the rich climate at this pilot school. The concepts of community schools do not necessarily sink in at first encounter; it sometimes takes a while for people to “get it.” The question often arises: Do you really expect the schools to do all of that? It is not well understood that the idea behind the community school movement is for schools to do less, not more! Partners such as CAS come into the building and take responsibility for health, social services, extended hours, and parent and community involvement. However, some school superintendents do get it; Thomas Payzant is a good example (see ch. 15 in this volume). Arne Duncan, head of the Chicago Public Schools, is another strong advocate: “We started with 20 community [school] centers this year [and] we want to add 20 each of the next five years so we will get up to 100 over five years. . . . [T]he Chicago School System cannot do this alone. . . . We have universities, local Boys & Girls Clubs, the YMCA’s, Jane Addams’ Hull House . . . helping to run our program with us.” The quest for appropriate space within schools for the core components is being addressed in large new school building initiatives around the country.

Although career guidance in the Czech Republic is officially perceived as a priority of the education system, guidance support is not provided equally at all types of schools and on all levels of the education system. For example, we register insufficient support for students at secondary vocational schools. As previous research by the authors of the article has shown, it seems that once a young person decides to pursue a career, the effort of the school system to pay further attention to career guidance will also decrease. This paper is aimed to suggest a new program for career education, counselling and training, afterwards to pilot it at three secondary vocational schools, and with the help of action research to collect and to evaluate experience from the school practice. The empirical part of this article consists of three research phases. First, a baseline analysis was performed using mixed data resources (questionnaire survey among students, interviews with school counsellors and document analysis). In the second phase, a new career guidance program was proposed. Finally, the program was tested at three vocational schools in the years 2019 and 2020. Using action research design, the researchers gathered evidence and identified the benefits of new counselling activities. Based on these results, proposals for further improvement and implementation of career guidance and education at secondary vocational schools were submitted.

Previous research conducted by the author investigated the socio-political backgrounds of two groups of female students studying computer-related university programmes. They came from distinctly different backgrounds and were enrolled at two institutions with very different legacies. The author found that socio-political factors, in particular the role of a dominant female household head and aggressive governmental affirmative action, had a significant effect on the girls’ levels of confidence and subsequently on their decision to study computer-related courses. Based on this insight, the researcher undertook to look further into gender diversity with respect to self-perceived general computer confidence and self-perceived ability to program a computer. A sample of both female and male Information T echnology students from very similar disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds was surveyed. The sample of 204 students was drawn from all three years of the National Diploma in Information Technology. The author considered the following research questions: (i) Do males and females studying computer-related courses have differing computer selfefficacy levels? (ii) Do males and females studying computer programming have differing attitudes towards their ability to program? (iii) Do males and females differ in their attitudes towards the programming learning environment?

In 2009 and 2010, the Institute for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (IRSN) lead a pilot action dealing with the decommissioning of a workshop located on the site of Areva’s La Hague fuel-reprocessing plant site in Northwestern France. The purpose of the pilot program was to test ways for IRSN and a few local stakeholders (Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) members, local elected officials, etc.) to engage in technical discussions. The discussions were intended to enable the local stakeholders to review the operator’s decommissioning application and provide input. The pilot program confirmed there is a definite challenge in successfully opening a meaningful dialogue to discuss technical issues. Three factors influence the extent of the challenge: the knowledge gap between experts and local stakeholders, the conflict between transparency and confidentiality which is inherent with technical topics, and the difficulty for an official expertise institute to hold a dialogue with “outsiders” during an ongoing reviewing process in which it is participating. The pilot program, given its mixed results, also provided valuable lessons for further improvement of stakeholders’ involvement.

The Federal Railroad Administration has embarked on a pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of using and linking defect detector systems for rail vehicles across North America. The goal of this project is to develop a national database that will enable the railroad industry to engage in predictive maintenance. These detectors measure equipment performance parameters such as the forces between the wheel and rails. The Integrated Railway Remote Information Service or InteRRIS™, an Internet-based system designed and developed by Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), was used to aggregate, interrogate, and store data from field-deployed detector systems. TTCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads (AAR). A key task of this program was the determination and implementation of appropriate access to a National Rail Corridor Vehicle Performance Database (VPD). The VPD can draw performance-based data from InteRRIS™ for the FRA and the railroads responsible for the safe operation of cars and locomotives as needed to enable effective performance-based safety monitoring. The VPD has been populated with data from a number of Truck Performance Detectors (TPD) and Wheel Impact Load Detectors (WILD™) in order to capture representative and geographically diverse traffic from freight, mixed freight/commuter/passenger lines, and hazardous materials lines. Both the AAR and FRA have a mutual interest in promoting the implementation of performance-based maintenance. It is hoped that this detector network and associated national database reduces the need for visual inspections on cars and locomotives, thereby focusing more efforts on preventive action and making repairs. This could greatly enhance the efficiency with which railroads make critical repairs in a timely manner. Such tools, with detector data in a central database, should they prove feasible, could eventually lead to the development of performance-based inspection standards.

Transuranic (TRU) waste leaving the Plutonium Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is packaged using LANL’s waste acceptance criteria for onsite storage. Before shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico, each payload container is subject to rigorous characterization to ensure compliance with WIPP waste acceptance criteria and Department of Transportation regulations. Techniques used for waste characterization include nondestructive examination by WIPP-certified real-time radiography (RTR) and nondestructive assay (NDA) of containers, as well as headspace gas sampling to ensure hydrogen and other flammable gases remain at safe levels during transport. These techniques are performed under a rigorous quality assurance program to confirm that results are accurate and reproducible. If containers are deemed problematic, corrective action is taken before shipment to WIPP. Currently this activity is possible only at the Laboratory’s Waste Characterization, Reduction, and Repackaging Facility. To minimize additional waste requiring remediation, WIPP waste acceptance criteria must be applied at the point of waste generation. Additional criteria stem from limitations of RTR or NDA instruments or lack of appropriate sampling and analysis. This paper presents the changes that have been implemented at the Plutonium Facility and gives readers a preview of what LANL expects to accomplish to expeditiously certify and dispose of newly generated TRU waste.

Transuranic (TRU) waste leaving the Plutonium Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is packaged using LANL’s waste acceptance criteria for onsite storage. Before shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico, each payload container is subject to rigorous characterization to ensure compliance with WIPP waste acceptance criteria and Department of Transportation regulations. Techniques used for waste characterization include nondestructive examination by WIPP-certified real-time radiography (RTR) and nondestructive assay (NDA) of containers, as well as headspace gas sampling to ensure that hydrogen and other flammable gases remain at safe levels during transport. These techniques are performed under a rigorous quality assurance program to confirm that results are accurate and reproducible. If containers are deemed problematic, corrective action is implemented before they are shipped to WIPP. A defensive approach was used for many years to minimize the number of problematic drums. However, based on review of data associated with headspace gas sampling, NDA and RTR results, and enhanced coordination with the entities responsible for waste certification, many changes have been implemented to facilitate packaging of TRU waste drums with higher isotopic loading at the Plutonium Facility at an unprecedented rate while ensuring compliance with waste acceptance criteria. This paper summarizes the details of technical changes and related administrative coordination activities, such as information sharing among the certification entities, generators, waste packagers, and shippers. It discusses the results of all such cumulative changes that have been implemented at the Plutonium Facility and gives readers a preview of what LANL has accomplished to expeditiously certify and dispose of newly generated TRU waste.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides the results of the preliminary analysis of the findings of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the social media use, cultural and political awareness, civic engagement, issue prioritization, and social activism of Gen Z students enrolled at four different institutional types located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The aim of this study is to look at the group as a whole as well as compare findings across populations. The institutional types under consideration include a mid-sized majority serving or otherwise referred to as a traditionally white institution (TWI) located in a small coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, a small Historically Black University (HBCU) located in a rural area, a large community college located in a county that is a mixture of rural and suburban and which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and graduating high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs in a large urban area. This exploration is purposed to examine the behaviors and expectations of Gen Z students within a representative American region during a time of tremendous turmoil and civil unrest in the United States. Background: Over 74 million strong, Gen Z makes up almost one-quarter of the U.S. population. They already outnumber any current living generation and are the first true digital natives. Born after 1996 and through 2012, they are known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task. Raised in the age of the smart phone, they have been tethered to digital devices from a young age with most having the preponderance of their childhood milestones commemorated online. Often called Zoomers, they are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation and are on track to be the most well-educated generation in history. Gen Zers in the United States have been found in the research to be progressive and pro-government and viewing increasing racial and ethnic diversity as positive change. Finally, they are less likely to hold xenophobic beliefs such as the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority that have been popular with by prior generations. The United States has been in a period of social and civil unrest in recent years with concerns over systematic racism, rampant inequalities, political polarization, xenophobia, police violence, sexual assault and harassment, and the growing epidemic of gun violence. Anxieties stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these issues resulting in a powder keg explosion occurring throughout the summer of 2020 and leading well into 2021. As a result, the United States has deteriorated significantly in the Civil Unrest Index falling from 91st to 34th. The vitriol, polarization, protests, murders, and shootings have all occurred during Gen Z’s formative years, and the limited research available indicates that it has shaped their values and political views. Methodology: The Mid-Atlantic region is a portion of the United States that exists as the overlap between the northeastern and southeastern portions of the country. It includes the nation’s capital, as well as large urban centers, small cities, suburbs, and rural enclaves. It is one of the most socially, economically, racially, and culturally diverse parts of the United States and is often referred to as the “typically American region.” An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2021 attending a high school dual enrollment program, a minority serving institution, a majority serving institution, and a community college all located within the larger mid-Atlantic region. The survey included a combination of multiple response, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by several content and methodological experts in order to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. Finally, the survey was pilot tested prior to implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly prior to widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Over 800 individuals completed the survey with just over 700 usable results, after partial completes and the responses of individuals outside of the 18-24 age range were removed. Findings: Participants in this study overwhelmingly were users of social media. In descending order, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Tik Tok were the most popular social media services reported as being used. When volume of use was considered, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter were the most cited with most participants reporting using Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day. When asked to select which social media service they would use if forced to choose just one, the number one choice was YouTube followed by Instagram and Snapchat. Additionally, more than half of participants responded that they have uploaded a video to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Tik Tok. When asked about their familiarity with different technologies, participants overwhelmingly responded that they are “very familiar” with smart phones, searching the Web, social media, and email. About half the respondents said that they were “very familiar” with common computer applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite with another third saying that they were “somewhat familiar.” When asked about Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard, Course Compass, Canvas, Edmodo, Moodle, Course Sites, Google Classroom, Mindtap, Schoology, Absorb, D2L, itslearning, Otus, PowerSchool, or WizIQ, only 43% said they were “very familiar” with 31% responding that they were “somewhat familiar.” Finally, about half the students were either “very” or “somewhat” familiar with operating systems such as Windows. A few preferences with respect to technology in the teaching and learning process were explored in the survey. Most students (85%) responded that they want course announcements and reminders sent to their phones, 76% expect their courses to incorporate the use of technology, 71% want their courses to have course websites, and 71% said that they would rather watch a video than read a book chapter. When asked to consider the future, over 81% or respondents reported that technology will play a major role in their future career. Most participants considered themselves “informed” or “well informed” about current events although few considered themselves “very informed” or “well informed” about politics. When asked how they get their news, the most common forum reported for getting news and information about current events and politics was social media with 81% of respondents reporting. Gen Z is known to be an engaged generation and the participants in this study were not an exception. As such, it came as no surprise to discover that, in the past year more than 78% of respondents had educated friends or family about an important social or political issue, about half (48%) had donated to a cause of importance to them, more than a quarter (26%) had participated in a march or rally, and a quarter (26%) had actively boycotted a product or company. Further, about 37% consider themselves to be a social activist with another 41% responding that aren’t sure if they would consider themselves an activist and only 22% saying that they would not consider themselves an activist. When asked what issues were important to them, the most frequently cited were Black Lives Matter (75%), human trafficking (68%), sexual assault/harassment/Me Too (66.49%), gun violence (65.82%), women’s rights (65.15%), climate change (55.4%), immigration reform/deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) (48.8%), and LGBTQ+ rights (47.39%). When the schools were compared, there were only minor differences in social media use with the high school students indicating slightly more use of Tik Tok than the other participants. All groups were virtually equal when it came to how informed they perceived themselves about current events and politics. Consensus among groups existed with respect to how they get their news, and the community college and high school students were slightly more likely to have participated in a march, protest, or rally in the last 12 months than the university students. The community college and high school students were also slightly more likely to consider themselves social activists than the participants from either of the universities. When the importance of the issues was considered, significant differences based on institutional type were noted. Black Lives Matter (BLM) was identified as important by the largest portion of students attending the HBCU followed by the community college students and high school students. Less than half of the students attending the TWI considered BLM an important issue. Human trafficking was cited as important by a higher percentage of students attending the HBCU and urban high school than at the suburban and rural community college or the TWI. Sexual assault was considered important by the majority of students at all the schools with the percentage a bit smaller from the majority serving institution. About two thirds of the students at the high school, community college, and HBCU considered gun violence important versus about half the students at the majority serving institution. Women’s rights were reported as being important by more of the high school and HBCU participants than the community college or TWI. Climate change was considered important by about half the students at all schools with a slightly smaller portion reporting out the HBCU. Immigration reform/DACA was reported as important by half the high school, community college, and HBCU participants with only a third of the students from the majority serving institution citing it as an important issue. With respect to LGBTQ rights approximately half of the high school and community college participants cited it as important, 44.53% of the HBCU students, and only about a quarter of the students attending the majority serving institution. Contribution and Conclusion: This paper provides a timely investigation into the mindset of generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. This insight is useful to educators who should be informed about the generation of students that is currently populating higher education. The findings of this study are consistent with public opinion polls by Pew Research Center. According to the findings, the Gen Z students participating in this study are heavy users of multiple social media, expect technology to be integrated into teaching and learning, anticipate a future career where technology will play an important role, informed about current and political events, use social media as their main source for getting news and information, and fairly engaged in social activism. When institutional type was compared the students from the university with the more affluent and less diverse population were less likely to find social justice issues important than the other groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: During disruptive and contentious times, it is negligent to think that the abounding issues plaguing society are not important to our students. Gauging the issues of importance and levels of civic engagement provides us crucial information towards understanding the attitudes of students. Further, knowing how our students gain information, their social media usage, as well as how informed they are about current events and political issues can be used to more effectively communicate and educate. Recommendations for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. Additionally, in other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Impact on Society: During a highly contentious period replete with a large volume of civil unrest and compounded by a global pandemic, understanding the behaviors and attitudes of students can help us as higher education faculty be more attuned when it comes to the design and delivery of curriculum. Future Research This presentation presents preliminary findings. Data is still being collected and much more extensive statistical analyses will be performed.