In the1996 presidential election, voters stayed away from the polls in record numbers. This volume of original essays by leading political scientists and media scholars examines the nature of political disengagement among the public and offers concrete solutions for how the government and media can stimulate public engagement in the political process. Among recommendations are more public deliberation, media responsibility, and campaign finance reform. Candidates with integrity, issues that matter, and information that is both reliable and meaningful will motivate the disaffected more surely than special-interest appeals to minorities, lower-income voters, students, and others. Further recommendations include using the Internet, structural change in registration and voting, and 'reverse socialization'.

This study compares the ever-changing cultural values of contemporary China and the contemporary United States. Surveying 2000-Shanghi area residents and villagers as well as 2500 US citizens, the authors examine to what extent there has been a loss of "traditional" values in the United States. The book looks at value systems in both cultures associated with family relationships, kinship ties, male-female relationships, and general interpersonal relationships - the fundamental social relationships comprising the social fabric of a society. The authors conclude that although both societies have experienced changes in this century, they have followed quite different paths. In exploring the extent to which this process has differed, the authors address the following questions: what traditional Confucian values persist in China after 40 years of communist indoctrination and the recent "invasion" of Western culture? How are fundamental human relationships viewed in the United States? How do these two societies differ today, both in adherence to traditional values and in the dynamics of value change? These and many more issues are explored.

This study compares the ever-changing cultural values of contemporary China and the contemporary United States. Surveying 2000-Shanghi area residents and villagers as well as 2500 US citizens, the authors examine to what extent there has been a loss of "traditional" values in the United States. The book looks at value systems in both cultures associated with family relationships, kinship ties, male-female relationships, and general interpersonal relationships - the fundamental social relationships comprising the social fabric of a society. The authors conclude that although both societies have experienced changes in this century, they have followed quite different paths. In exploring the extent to which this process has differed, the authors address the following questions: what traditional Confucian values persist in China after 40 years of communist indoctrination and the recent "invasion" of Western culture? How are fundamental human relationships viewed in the United States? How do these two societies differ today, both in adherence to traditional values and in the dynamics of value change? These and many more issues are explored.