Front Page Highlight

Philadelphia students got the opportunity to talk with two mayoral candidates about how to improve the city in a forum sponsored by the Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Education and the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Thousands of immigrants from across the globe will be sworn in as American citizens, while students nationwide will take part in the “Preamble Challenge” to celebrate Constitution Day (Sept. 17).

In time for Constitution Day, Annenberg Classroom has released three videos dealing with constitutional protections and the rule of law, including habeas corpus in the Guantanamo Bay detention cases. Also back this fall is a popular online course about the Constitution from scholar Kermit Roosevelt.

Getting children to cut back on sugar-sweetened beverages like soda and energy drinks has been the goal of anti-obesity public service advertisements. A new study evaluates the effectiveness of persuasive techniques -- humor, fear and nurturance -- used in those PSAs.

The Annenberg Working Group on Presidential Campaign Debate Reform ­– a bipartisan group of top officials from past presidential campaigns – released its recommendations to help democratize the presidential general election debate process ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Explore ways to increase the value and viewership of presidential general election debates while taking into account how the electoral environment has changed over time.

A new study of public service advertisements (PSAs) to address obesity finds that appealing to fear – and the health consequences of too much sugar, such as diabetes and heart disease – had the greatest effect on teens’ intention to cut back on sugary beverages like soda and energy drinks.

The Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement celebrated its relocation to the Annenberg Public Policy Center on May 4, in events that showcased their joint interest in civic education and judicial independence. The Rendell Center also sponsored a youth mayoral forum where 4th and 5th graders could question Philadelphia's mayoral candidates.

Annenberg Public Policy Center director Kathleen Hall Jamieson delivered the David Lecture on "Communicating the Value and Values of Science" before the National Academy of Sciences, looking at successes and failure in science communication in areas such as climate change, vaccines and GMOs.