We are drowning in data. In sports, The Indiana Department of Education, election polling, and commercial surveys, data is so addictive to consumers that when information is not naturally available, vice presidents of this and that move to create it.  When data does not produce a desired result, the goal or the data calculation is changed. Sports data entertains:  A

Anybody who has ever been lied to or betrayed by a friend or coworker knows just how difficult it is to re-establish trust in the offending party. Sometimes, credibility that is destroyed can never be fully restored. So it is with America’s news media, which recently got yet another dismal report on public perception of the journalism industry. The media

For example, does a visitor from North Dakota, sitting next to his friend in Bloomington, have the same intensity, the same degree of unrestricted loyalty and enthusiasm as his host who is an I.U. alum, former athlete and donor?  They both support The Hoosiers, but not with the same magnitude. Sports is one thing.  What about gun control?  The arguments

So now that the Electing Our Future forums are over, the real question is: Will you Vote?  Between these forums intending to inform and engage citizen and NUVO’s Voter Guide below, the choice is easy.  What are you waiting for?  Hit the polls on Tuesday! NUVO’s 2015 Voter Guide: *The following is an original post from NUVO.net and is republished

This past Tuesday, the final forum in the three part-series, “Electing Our Future,” took place at the Indianapolis Public Library’s downtown location.  This forum focused on “What Should the Future Hold for Indianapolis” presented by representatives of Plan 2020.  Read a description of the event and catch the live recording courtesy of WFYI, below. What Should the Future Hold for Indianapolis? Representatives of Plan 2020: The Bicentennial Plan

The Program on International Policy Attitudes is a respected source for international opinion research. In the wake of the 2010 U.S. elections, it conducted a survey of voters, first looking to see those voters’ perceptions of how much misinformation was “out there,” and second, to determine just how misinformed voters actually were. Unsurprisingly, The poll found strong evidence that voters

This past Tuesday, the second forum in the three part-series, “Electing Our Future,” took place at the Indianapolis Public Library’s downtown location.  This forum focused on The Issues Indianapolis faces presented by a panel of experts and facilitated by Sheila Kennedy.  Read the transcript of Sheila’s opening statements and catch the live recording of the event courtesy of WFYI, below.

My husband and I have had a long-running argument about primary elections. (Hey–you argue with your spouse about whatever is important in your house, and we nerds will argue about what preoccupies us…) My husband insists that primaries have contributed mightily to political polarization. It’s unarguable that the people who turn out for primary elections are more partisan and ideological

Media attention is already firmly focused on 2016 and the presidential race, and that’s understandable, given the amount of cluelessness and buffoonery being displayed by the current crop of “candidates” (note the quotation marks, because, really–who can take some of these people seriously?). Most recently, Ben Carson has replaced Donald Trump as the preferred mouthpiece for bigotry and unintended irony:

It’s hard to believe it, but The Electing Our Future forums are upon us!  The first event kicks off this coming Monday, Sept. 21st at 6pm. The Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce will take responsibility for this initial presentation. Which will include a brief description of where we are in the federal/state/local scheme of things; discussion of home rule/state authority; outline of

Americans are increasingly concerned about two seemingly unrelated issues: a distressing lack of civic literacy and informed civic engagement in the general public, and the escalating burden of student-loan debt. We could make significant progress on both of those issues with an updated GI Bill. Late in World War II, Congress passed the original GI Bill, which provided a wide

More Blogs. More Info. Why Local Elections Matter Why Should I Care? Can We Make You Care?

As Indianapolis gears up for municipal elections this fall, the Center for Civic Literacy is trying to get the message out that local elections, DO matter! In a collaborative project with NUVO, WFYI and a number of civic organizations, we plan to identify individuals who are Marion County residents and registered to vote, but who do not vote in off-year

In 2015, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, along with faculty and academic professionals from universities and colleges across the country will collaborate to create a national Civic Learning rubric. Following the VALUE Rubric Protocols developed by Wende Garrison and AAC&U, the national Civic Learning rubric will be suitable for institutional assessment of the civic content and knowledge students gain throughout their undergraduate education. The project team

Our televisions and Internet feeds are rapidly filling with coverage of the 2016 Presidential race. It’s hard to fault the media for its fascination with our quadrennial political spectacle, especially since the Republican field contains no fewer than seventeen candidates (at this count—who knows what other hats may be flung into the ring), many of whom are happily demonstrating that