Remember when radio meant something? When you knew all of the disc jockeys' names on your favorite station, and you had to stick around through the commercial break to see what song was going to be played next? "Alternative" (or "modern rock") radio was one of the last radio formats in the 21st century to incite that level of passion with its listenership. When Chicago station Q101 (WKQX) decided to flip to an alternative format in July, 1992, their timing couldn't have been better. Alternative music turned the music industry upside down in the early 1990s, thanks to star-making releases from bands like Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Pearl Jam. Though Q101 was slow to fully embrace all of alternative music's marquee players, once they did, the station became a dominant presence on the Windy City's FM band. We Appreciate Your Enthusiasm tells the oral history of Q101, from 1992-2011, through the stories, memories, and recollections of the people who worked there both on the air and behind the scenes. The resulting tale is a primer on modern radio: the good, the bad, the hilarious, and the ridiculous. We Appreciate Your Enthusiasm covers band feuds with heavyweights like the White Stripes and Pearl Jam, radio feuds with rival stations WRCX and WZZN, promotional failures like the "all you can drink" Brew & Block Party, a hail of garbage big enough to influence the name of the book, and the cultural impact of events like Kurt Cobain's death, 9/11, and Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl. Over 75 former employees' thoughts and stories are featured, including syndicated host Mancow Muller, former MTV personalities Mark Goodman and Kevin Manno, Sludge, Electra, Robert Chase, Ryan Manno, Lance and Stoley, Wendy and Bill, Sherman and Tingle, and Zoltar.

economic impact of Immigration : 1st report of session 2007-08, Vol. 2: Evidence

Eighteen months since the Arab Spring began, there has been extraordinary progress in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. Yet many challenges still lie ahead, not least the need to support and reform the economies of these Arab Spring states. In 2011, the G8 Deauville Partnership identified $38 billion of funding available to support reform. The UK must use its leadership in the EU and G8 to ensure that we deliver on our promises. The Government needs to learn lessons from its experience in anticipating and handling the Arab Spring. Questions arose about the FCO's staffing levels, linguistic expertise and information gathering in the Middle East and North Africa region, although diplomats understood well the long-term problems in the region. The report welcomes the Government's recent moves to establish contacts with Islamist parties in the region and calls for deeper engagement to demonstrate at an early stage the UK's support and assistance for democratically elected leaders who respect human rights and democratic reforms. The BBC's Arabic Service further highlighted the importance of the BBC World Service in providing an independent news service and enhancing the UK's standing in the region. The Committee welcomes the Government's decision to reverse planned cuts to the Arabic Service last year, expresses concerns that cuts made elsewhere in the World Service will prove detrimental to the national interest, and urges that there be a sustained investment in the World Service

This groundbreaking book explores the current state of doctoral education in the United States and offers a plan for increasing the effectiveness of doctoral education. Programs must grapple with questions of purpose. The authors examine practices and elements of doctoral programs and show how they can be made more powerful by relying on principles of progressive development, integration, and collaboration. They challenge the traditional apprenticeship model and offer an alternative in which students learn while apprenticing with several faculty members. The authors persuasively argue that creating intellectual community is essential for high-quality graduate education in every department. Knowledge-centered, multigenerational communities foster the development of new ideas and encourage intellectual risk taking.

This White Paper contains a three volume set of documents (Cm. 7342-I/II/III, ISBN 9780101734226) and is part of the Governance of Britain series examining constitutional renewal. In July 2007, the Governance of Britain Green Paper was published (ISBN 9780101717021) which set out the Government's vision and proposals for constitutional renewal, calling on the public, Parliament and other organisations to submit views. The result of the consultation is the publication of this White Paper. Volume 1 covers the substantive issues of constitutional renewal, including: the Government's policy proposals; the Attorney General; judicial appointments; treaties; the civil service; war powers; flag flying and other policies, such as the reform of the Intelligence and Security Committee; a wider review of the Royal Perogative; passports; the National Audit Office; public appointments and Church of England appointments. Volume 2, presents the draft Constitutional Renewal Bill, with Volume 3, setting out an analysis of the consultations. For specific publications on a number of the issues examined here, see Cm. 7239, War Powers & Treaties - ISBN 9780101723923; Cm. 7210, Judicial Appointments, ISBN 9780101721028; Cm. 7192, Role of the Attorney General, ISBN 9780101719223.

This strategy signals a radical change in the approach to irresponsible drinking and resultant criminal and anti-social behaviour and the increasing health problems created by the current levels of alcohol consumption. In 2012-11 there were nearly 1 million alcohol-related violent crimes and 1.2 million alcohol-related hospital admissions. The problem has developed because cheap alcohol is too readily available; increasing numbers of people drink at home before going on a night out ("pre-loading"); the Licensing Act failed to deliver a cafâ culture; too many places cater for people who drink to get drunk regardless of the consequences for themselves or others; and individuals who cause the problems have not been challenged enough over their behaviour. The availability of cheap alcohol will be curtailed through the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol. The exact level is to be agreed, but if it was 40p, it is estimated there would be 50,000 fewer crimes each year and 900 fewer alcohol-related deaths by the end of the decade. Consultations will also aim to end multi-buy promotions. Local areas and agencies will be given powers to challenge people's behaviour and make it easier to take action against, and even close down, problem premises. Other measures include early morning restriction orders and a late night levy so that businesses open late contribute to the costs of policing. The drinks industry has a crucial role to play in changing the drinking culture towards positive socialising. And the risks of excessive consumption will be widely circulated.

The White Paper sets out the Government's proposals to further reform the management of schools in England, with the aim of creating a system shaped by parental choice where schools have greater autonomy in admissions policy. Proposals include: i) the role of local education authorities confined to being a local commissioner of services rather than an education provider, with a focus on raising standards through spreading best practice and championing parental choice; ii) each school able to acquire a self-governing trust status (similar to the network of Academies) or become a self-governing foundation school; iii) an increased role for new providers and the creation of a national Schools Commissioner to drive change and to promote the development of trust schools; iv) an expansion in the number of Academies to 200 by the year 2010 and easier provision for independent schools to enter the state system; v) the weakest schools to be given one year to improve standards or face closure, whilst high performing schools will have reduced bureaucracy and a lighter touch inspection regime; vi) increased provision for free school transport for poorer pupils; and vii) the introduction of a right for teachers to discipline pupils.

This Science and Technology Committee report on practical experiments in school science lessons and science field trips concludes that many students are receiving poor practical science experiences during their secondary school education. There was no credible evidence to support the frequently cited explanation of health and safety concerns for a decline in practicals and trips. Instead, more focus is needed on what happens after teachers have been recruited to the profession: knowledge and practical skills must be maintained and developed in order for high quality science education to be delivered. High quality science facilities and qualified and experienced technical support are vital. A career structure for technical staff should be provided and the government should ensure schools provide science facilities to match its aspirations for science education. Practical science is relatively expensive and carries little cachet for parents comparing schools. The inspection regime and the requirements set for exam boards should therefore drive higher quality with more and better practical science lessons. The Committee also found a lack of coherence in the provision of science educational materials. It urges the science community to utilise the STEM directories - the online database of STEM enhancement and enrichment activities for schools and colleges - and calls on the government to secure the future of the directories which provide vital contacts between schools and scientists. Finally, the committee urges the government to provide a detailed strategy on how it intends to achieve its ambition to increase participation in school science subjects.

It is thirteen years since the Railways Act 1993 started the process of privatising British Rail, replacing it with one company owning and managing the infrastructure, an open-access system for freight services and a series of twenty-five passenger franchises let to private companies for a specified period of time. This period has seen almost continuous change, and there is now a new 'triumvirate' framework with the Department for Transport, the Office of Rail Regulation and Network Rail in place, with the third generation of franchises in the process of being let and the number being reduced to nineteen. The Committee's report examines the current franchising system, focusing on the coherence of its objectives, the effectiveness of the process for awarding franchises and the management of franchise agreements, and whether more competition and vertical integration is needed. Findings include that the current system represents a policy muddle which lacks a coherent framework for the development of good services and delivery of value for money for passengers and taxpayers. The only way the Government can increase capacity and improve services for the long-term is to drop the dogmatic pursuit of competition in its decision-making as to what the private and public sectors can and should do in future. The Government's forthcoming long-term strategy for the railways will need to address these issues, and to set out a structure and a strategy capable of securing quality passenger rail services to meet demand over the next half a century.