Jim Riley

I am delighted to announce that the launch edition of FPTP is now available to subscribers. Details of the first series of articles are provided further below. Don't forget that we now offer a Personal/Student edition of FPTP, which can be ordered here: http://www.tutor2u.net/acatalog/first_past...s_magazine.html Subscriptions may be paid for using PaYPal as well as Credit/Debit cards. You can view a sample article from the launch edition (on voting behaviour) here: Sample article on US voting behaviour Jim CONTENTS OF THE LAUNCH EDITION The Electoral College This article analyses the background to the Electoral College (“EC”) and considers the various proposals for reform of the EC Turnout in American Presidential Elections After a period of steady decline in the voter turnout in presidential elections, the close fight in 2004 saw turnout rise sharply. Millions of new voters registered to vote -and two million party workers mobilised them on the big day. Revival of Party Conventions and Presidential Debates Party conventions and presidential debates provided a feast of content for the American political media in the 2004 campaign. As always, the feast was closely controlled by the party machines. Bush and Congress Republican control of Congress is no guarantee that the president will have an easy ride, despite much greater party cohesion in recent years. George Bush will be hoping for greater success in his second term compared with the first. State Direct Democracy Initiatives and Recall Elections are giving voters a wide variety of opportunities to express their views at the ballot box. From baiting bears with pizza to gay marriage, the outcome of Initiatives is often unpredictable. Interest Groups in US Elections The 2004 Presidential Election was once again influenced by a diverse range of big-spending, vociferous political interest groups. Wealthy individuals, businesses and other organisations all got involved to make their point. The US Cabinet Cabinet by name; but not cabinet by nature. American Presidents have all taken a slightly different approach to the operation of the US Cabinet - but few have really taken it seriously. Election Spending in 2004 One of the most closely-fought presidential elections was conducted against the background of record-breaking campaign fundraising, with John Kerry proving particularly successful at parting his supporters with their cash. Voting Behaviour A complex series of factors influence the way that US voters behave at the ballot box. The 2004 elections followed some familiar patterns of voter behaviour - but generated up some surprises too. Supreme Court in Bush’s First Term When the Supreme Court effectively decided the result of the 2000 presidential election, many expected the Court to take a decisive shift in a politically conservative direction. This article assesses what actually happened.

Thanks for the link Holg. We've just employed someone to really update and upgrade the AS/A2 Politics materials over July and August - so they should be up to scratch for the start of the new term Jim

tutor2u www.tutor2u.net My memory plays tricks with me, but I thought that we used to be members of the ATW when twin brother Geoff operated the fledgling site. No idea why we're not still supporting ATW. We offer a range of (mainly) free and subscription based resources for economics, business studies, politics and ict. The usual stuff - such as revision notes, presentations, quizzes, forum boards, glossaries and so on. We;ve also branched out into flash-animated charts and presentations, and flash-based business simulations. In September 2004 we launch a free Virtual Learning Environment to enable schools to create and manage materials and classes online - which should be fun! We're also experimenting with real-time INSET training which we'd like to launch before Christmas. We currently average just over 18,000 unique users per day (it got really busy in May!), serving up around 1.2 million pages of content per day - depending on what students and teaches are looking for. Roughly 65% of our web site guests are from the UK. Everyone one of them is welcome. Our web site guests are a source of huge satisfaction and fun. Jim

We get one or two abusive emails/forum posts from students every month or so. Fortunately we can track the ip details of everyone who visits and interacts with the site. Our policy is to always pass on details of the offending comments to (1) the ICT Head at the school concerned and (2) the Headmaster. It works a treat. A grovelling apology from the student concerned is usually following close behind. I think the reality is that there will always be a small minority of idiots whose immaturity allows them to offend and abuse (it is so much easier when filling our a feedback form or forum topic!). But these kind of responses are always outweighed by the goodwill and positive feedback from the majority Jim

We are currently evaluating Moodle as the platform for our new suite of free INSET courses. I must say that, so far, I've been very impressed - both in terms of functionality and (of course) price! Jim

We've sold e-learning creditable resources to just over 1,500 schools in the last 9-12 months. And to my knowledge, not one school found us using CO, or indeed uses it for anything else. Operating CO from a content provider perspective is a nightmare. Jim

Over the years, our forum has become a much more lively and effective source of e-learning for students. I think it takes time for a student forum to gain momentum - but if the right spirit of sharing & co-operation can be fostered, then it can work really well. Our forum boards are moderated by teachers AND students. but in reality, a well-established forum "polices" itself. Jim

Evening all Jim Riley; aged 40; partly balding; two little, adorable kids I run an educational publishing business - tutor2u - which also has a web site (www.tutor2u.net). We've focused so far on subjects like Economics & Business Studies. And now we are moving into ICT, Politics and English - which should be great fun. We'd do History and other subjects if only we could find someone who wanted to work with us to publish materials! Before the current job, I was a director of travel group (Thomson Travel Group plc) running their global mergers and acquisitions department. And before that I was a director of corporate finance at a firm of accountants - PricewaterhouseCoopers in London and Leeds. An accountant by profession, I'm really enjoying getting to know something about the UK and international education sector. I get many calls each day from teachers - I find its best to simply listen! Nice to meet you all Jim